Former Celtic player Frank McAvennie has taken a bizarre swipe at Celtic midfielder James McCarthy. McCarthy joined the Hoops last Summer on a free transfer, signing a 4-year contract. With 272 appearances in the Premier League under his belt, McCarthy brought valuable experience to Ange Posteciglou’s side, who were looking to replace the Scott Brown-shaped hole in the squad.
However, after stacking up a reasonable amount of game time for the Bhoys last season, McCarthy has a limited amount of appearances for the Hoops so far this season. Football Pundit and Celtic legend, Frank McAvennie spoke to Football Insider about McCarthy and gave a pretty damning report. McAvennie believes McCarthy doesn’t fit into the Celtic side and needs to step up in order to keep up with the rest of the squad.
McAvennie’s worries may be justified as the current injury-stricken Callum McGregor would usually slot into the central role at the heart of the Celtic team where McCarthy is currently sitting. McGregor’s presence is clearly missed, and in McAvennie’s view, McCarthy is not up for the job.
“I do not know what has happened to McCarthy, he is just lost now.”
“Why they bought McCarthy I do not know. I thought he was going to come in and be the holding player in midfield. I liked him I thought he was a great player.
“Now, he does not look fit when he comes on. He obviously is not match fit. I do not know if the manager has sat down with him and told him there is a space there and he needs to step up.”
McCarthy did prove himself to be invaluable to the cause, winning the ball deep into injury time against St Johnstone and releasing Alexandro Bernabei for the full-back to set up Giorgos Giakoumakis, who scored the winner. The Irish Internationalist is a squad player, a role he likely agreed to when he joined, but the attack on him seems needless from McAvennie.
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