Jackie McNamara has said that Celtic right-back Mikael Lustig must be prepared to play a back-up role next season if he intends to stay at the club.
Lustig is out of contract at the end of the month, with a previous report [The Scottish Sun] linking the 85-time Sweden international with a move back to his homeland with Malmo.
Speaking to Football Insider, McNamara said that with the Hoops likely to buy another right-back this summer, Lustig must consider his options carefully.
“I think if he does [stay] it will be just as a squad player or a backup,” the pundit said. “I don’t think he’ll be a starter in certain games.
“He has been reliable, Neil’s obviously relied on him over the last number of years but I think they’ll need a full back, even if they do re-sign Lustig. I still think they need another right back.
“It depends [on whether he would accept a diminished role]. Obviously his age and stuff, what he thinks – only he’ll know that, what he thinks of himself. That will be the big thing for the boy himself, if he decides he wants to stay and be part of the squad.”
OPINION
It’s certainly going to be an interesting summer for Celtic, and the right-back position is one which you look at and think there will be definite changes to. Lustig has a big decision to make in the next couple of weeks. He has been a great servant for the Hoops, being involved in not just the treble treble but also all of the last eight Premiership titles the club have won. He has been a key figure down the years – since his move to Parkhead in 2012 – but his influence on the side is starting to wane. Lustig was involved in 23 Premiership games last season which shows that he is not being selected week in, week out anymore. If he is happy to accept an even more diminished role under Neil Lennon, then so be it. Celtic fans wouldn’t mind having him around for backup, but the player himself may want more because at 32, he only has a few more seasons left in him. It’s a big couple of weeks for Mikael Lustig.