Sunday might not have been a vintage Celtic performance, but once again, the champions found a way under Martin O’Neill, securing a place in the last four of the Scottish Cup following a battling display at Ibrox.
An already depleted squad – having been without Jota, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Alistair Johnston for much of the campaign – was put to the test even further at the weekend, with supporters likely to have been fearing the worst after the team sheets dropped.
There had been whispers of a potential issue for the resurgent Kieran Tierney, although the absence of influential skipper, Callum McGregor, came as a real surprise, with O’Neill forced to make do without two of his trusted lieutenants.
The Hoops, to their credit, just about got over the line following a largely drab derby meeting, yet those at Parkhead will be praying that McGregor’s return comes sooner rather than later.
Latest on Callum McGregor’s injury blow at Celtic
Celtic’s Mr. Consistent, hardly a game goes by without McGregor putting his stamp on proceedings in front of the back four, having assumed almost undroppable and irreplaceable status over an extended period now.
There has been a sense that this team simply can’t cope without him, a view that O’Neill seemingly shares, having still started his captain against lower league side, Auchinleck Talbot, as well as in the relative dead-rubber, Europa League second-leg against Stuttgart.
Maybe that ever-present involvement has taken its toll, although despite Sunday’s penalty shootout triumph, the performance as a whole showcased just what the ex-Scotland international brings to the side, with Celtic failing to even register a single shot on target.
In the view of Tam McManus, the title-chasing side will be in “big trouble” if McGregor is out for an extended period, on the evidence of the weekend display, with O’Neill’s update having not exactly been too encouraging.
Indeed, while the aforementioned Tierney is likely to be available for the weekend clash with Motherwell, the Hoops boss was less sure regarding McGregor’s return, revealing that the 32-year-old may have suffered a recurrence of the calf injury that had been an issue last term.
“I think that (winning without McGregor) shouldn’t be overlooked,” he said. “He was feeling it in Aberdeen (on Wednesday).
“I think the medical team were saying it’s something that was here last year and maybe has come back. So the best thing to do was just to take him out of it”.
Sometimes, like with McGregor, you don’t realise quite how good you have it until it’s gone…
The new McGregor is now Celtic’s most valuable player
Liam Scales at left-back. The relatively unproven Viljamo Sinisalo and Benjamin Arthur in the backline. Luke McCowan in a deep-lying midfield role.
The legendary Manchester United pair had different opinions…
For all the square pegs in round holes, for all the absentees, Celtic got the job done on Sunday, with even the loss of McGregor not proving fatal for the men in green and white.
That said, as their scrappy display showcased, this is not a side firing on all cylinders, with recent weeks having highlighted that O’Neill is still struggling to fill the void left behind by the sidelined Arne Engels.
Absent since limping off against Livingston last month, not long after the club had rejected a £25m deadline day bid from Nottingham Forest, the Belgian’s importance to this side has been seen without him in it.
Much like McGregor, the 22-year-old appears to quietly make Celtic a better team when he’s fit and firing, with O’Neill struggling to find a real solution in his absence over recent weeks.
While Reo Hatate has begun to find form again, the Japanese playmaker still looks a shadow of his prior best, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s debut heroics now appear something of a distant memory.
Indeed, for all the criticism of Celtic’s club-record, £11m signing, Engels does make a real difference alongside McGregor in the centre of the park, registering 35 goals and assists in 90 total games for the club to date.
|
Celtic results since Engels injury |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Competition |
Opponent |
Result |
|
Scottish Cup |
Rangers |
0-0 (2-4 pens) |
|
Premiership |
Aberdeen |
1-2 (W) |
|
Premiership |
Rangers |
2-2 (D) |
|
Europa League |
Stuttgart |
0-1 (W) |
|
Premiership |
Hibernian |
1-2 (L) |
|
Europa League |
Stuttgart |
1-4 (L) |
|
Premiership |
Kilmarnock |
2-3 (W) |
12 of those goal involvements have come this season, and while the former Augsburg man certainly isn’t the finished article, his absence is felt keenly when he doesn’t feature, just like McGregor.
His importance to the Celtic cause can also be seen in his soaring market value, having now overtaken Daizen Maeda as the most valuable player at the club, as per Transfermarkt.
Deemed to be worth €18m (£15m) – ahead of Maeda’s value of €12m (£10m) – it looks as if Celtic will make a profit on him later down the line, albeit with the current priority getting the youngster back to full fitness heading into this crucial stage of the season.
He may not be a physical, all-action midfield machine, but just like McGregor, his technical quality lifts O’Neill’s side in the centre of the pitch.
He’s as bad as Mvuka: £5m flop must never play for Celtic again
Joel Mvuka isn’t the only Celtic attacker who should be finished at Parkhead.
