Celtic star’s Old Firm absence vs Rangers proves how ‘valuable’ he is as Rodgers points to lack of fluidity
Scott Allan believes Callum McGregor’s value to Celtic isn’t shown until he misses a game – admitting the Hoops skipper remains the heartbeat of Brendan Rodgers’ side.
The 31-year-old former Scotland international was absent for Sunday’s five-goal Old Firm thriller against Rangers due to a calf problem as the Premiership leaders went down 3-2 on derby day in Glasgow’s east end.
Celtic struggled to get going in the first half and trailed by two goals at the break before producing an improved second half performance to get back on level terms, only for a defensive error to let
Former Celtic and Hibs midfielder Allan believes the manner of Celtic’s defeat showed just how valuable McGregor is to the Scottish champions.
“For me, Callum McGregor, it is not until he’s not in the team you see how valuable he is to that squad,” Allan declared on BBC Sportsound. “He is the function of how this Celtic team plays.
“Everything is played through him and it allows Hatate to pick up certain position and the same with Engels a bit further forward. It proves how valuable a member he is.”
Fellow pundit Chris Sutton echoed those sentiments on Sky Sports, admitting: “Celtic missed Callum McGregor’s leadership and they missed his quality. It was so careless the goal they gave away for the winner. I think Cameron Carter-Vickers ducks out of the way.
“Rangers have beaten Celtic twice this season, but they are not going to win the league. They play well when the pressure isn’t on. In many ways they’ll be kicking themselves, because they can produce performances like today but they’re miles away.”
It comes after Brendan Rodgers refused to use McGregor’s absence as an excuse for Celtic’s below-par display as they lost
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