Yesterday may have been a meaningless match with the Scottish Premiership as it was all sewn up before a ball was kicked, but the performances of fringe player Stephen Welsh is further proof of why we need to strengthen with quality over the summer.
I’m not picking on the young boy as he gives his all every time he pulls on the hoops and you have to remember that he’s not had much game-time this season, so it’s hard for him to come in a perform to the high level required.
But the honest truth is that he’s not maybe at the level of player we require if we want to move forward and improve.
Celtic need to improve in terms of quality at the back
Stephen was badly at fault for one of the goals yesterday and was all over the place defensively. The amount of times he lets his man get past was alarming.
We’ve struggled badly without CCV in our side this season, and yesterday was further proof of our lack of quality and vulnerability defensively when the big strong man isn’t available.
What happens if the big American gets sidelined for a spell next season? God forbid he doesn’t, but it’s not out of the question that it could happen and it’s something we’ve got to be fully prepared for.
Stephen unfortunately isn’t the answer, and Gustav Lagerbielke clearly isn’t rated by Brendan and will almost certainly be off this summer. Hopefully Celtic can get their money back on that ill-considered transfer deal.
Maik Nawrocki and Liam Scales may be decent
And while other two centre backs Maik Nawrocki and Liam Scales may be decent and reliable, they aren’t in the class of CCV.
So it’s imperative we sign a defender of the same ilk if not better than CCV if we want to not just remain successful, but also compete in the Champions League next season.
Essentially we need to be good enough at the back to stop losing the number of goals we do at Champions League level. The better our defence the harder we’ll be to beat.
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
