Celtic

Celtic: Alison McConnell lists ‘considerable issues’ for club if they want title challenge

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Image for Celtic: Alison McConnell lists ‘considerable issues’ for club if they want title challenge

Football writer Alison McConnell has outlined the ‘considerable issues’ that she believes Celtic must address if they want to challenge for the Scottish Premier League title. 

Last season, the Bhoys fell well short of their league ambitions, and their attempts to rectify things this campaign have not got off to a great start.

Indeed, the club have just nine points from a possible 18 so far. As a result, they sit sixth in the current league table.

While discussing the clubs’ recent loss to Livingston on the PLZ Football Show, McConnell went into great detail explaining some of the key issues behind the club’s current shortcomings.

Listing a number of different concerns, she said: “I think they lack incredible elements of the game that are fundamental to any kind of success. Leadership would be one of them – I think Callum McGregor is a hugely significant miss when he’s out.

“I think when you take [Kyogo] Furuhashi out, you miss his energy, his movement. All of a sudden, they don’t look like a team who are capable of scoring goals. 

“I thought the [Livingston] performance was probably the worst of Ange Postecoglou’s reign. I thought it was bereft of imagination, of creativity, of ideas. 

“I think when you look at the stats, and you have that amount of possession, Celtic didn’t have any real chances that would be reflective of that amount of control in the game. I don’t think they ever looked like winning once they had conceded. 

“And I think these are considerable issues that will need to be addressed if you are to harbour any hopes at all of a title challenge and these are the issues that you need to look at.”

TIF Thoughts on Celtic and their issues… 

McConnell notably refers to two of the club’s key players – captain Callum McGregor and star striker Kyogo Furuhashi – as those who need to stay fit for the club to have a chance of winning most games.

Is Ange Postecoglou the right man to manage Celtic?

Yes

Yes

No

No

The pressure on those two is probably impacted by the fact that former captain Scott Brown left the club this summer after 14 years, while main goalscorer Odsonne Edouard also departed in the recent transfer market.

The Bhoys have a new manager at the helm in Ange Postecoglou, but he’ll need to make sure his entire squad can step up so that the club do not end up overly reliant on the form of a few stars – or indeed miss the impact of those former players.

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