The Celtic Star Who Has Been Made a ‘Scapegoat’ According to Chris Sutton

Chris Sutton believes one Celtic player is being harshly criticised as the Hoops crashed out of the Champions League at the play-off phase.

The second-half showing was Celtic’s downfall on the night. The injuries piled up, forcing Martin O’Neill into substitutions.

Sebastian Tounekti and Reo Hatate replaced Yang and Benjamin Nygren, then shortly after, Luke McCowan, Liam Scales, and Dane Murray were introduced.

McCowan had a night to forget in the midfield, but Sutton stresses that he wasn’t the only poor performer on the night.

The 28-year-old deleted his Instagram account after the match and was the subject of wide criticism from supporters online. Highlighting a player’s errors is part of the game, but a line can be crossed when it comes to a barrage of abuse. 

Sutton knows there are weaknesses in the squad that were exposed, again, on Tuesday night. He said (RecordSport):

“Then you look at the personnel on the pitch by the end of the match. No disrespect to some of these players but this was a £40m play-off.

“Cameron-Carter-Vickers and Kieran Tierney not lasting 90 minutes shouldn’t be a surprise given their injury histories.

“It was inevitable they would need shoring up late on to see the game out.”

The former Celt believes that McCowan was put in an awkward position, chasing the game as the Hoops looked to qualify by the skin of their teeth.

“Instead, Celtic had Dane Murray coming on at right back at first, Liam Scales at left back, and then Anthony Ralston on for extra time”, Sutton added. “Luke McCowan has been harshly made into a bit of a scapegoat by fans online but he should never have been in that situation, having to come on to rescue a Champions League campaign.

“The fact he was needed points back to the overriding fact that Celtic once again went into this match badly lacking in key areas.”

The glaring issues within the squad strengthen the need for further activity in the transfer market. The board cannot hide behind the excuse of no Champions League football; there are still European fixtures on the horizon.

McCowan recently signed a new deal at the Hoops until 2028, with Liam Scales and Yang until 2030. The midfielder isn’t going anywhere, and his midweek performance was one of many bad ones put in by a player in the green and white.

But performances at the elite level are constantly scrutinised. Sutton believes it’s more telling of the Celts’ hierarchy for not investing properly and proactively. There are no excuses now as the transfer deadline looms.