Brendan Rodgers has just shared a ‘huge Celtic statement’ about Callum McGregor
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers isn’t afraid to make tough decisions for the good of the team and drop key players like Callum McGregor if they aren’t performing.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, ex-Celtic striker Frank McAvennie believes Rodgers’, 51, decision to drop their 31-year-old captain at the end of last season has helped him turn things around at the club, a lesson Luis Palma, 24, can learn from.
Palma made his first start for the Glasgow club in their 5-2 Scottish League Cup victory over Falkirk but was hooked off on the hour mark after failing to impress.
Thankfully for the Honduran left-winger, goals from Paulo Bernardo, Adam Idah, and Nicolas Kuhn helped take the spotlight away from his lacking performance.
Brendan Rodgers the reason for Callum McGregor’s good Celtic form
The central midfielder has already beaten his goal tally from last season, scoring three goals in Celtic’s opening five Scottish Premier League games.
McGregor is now able to fully focus on his club after announcing his retirement from international football with 63 Scotland caps under his belt.
“He’s (Palma) not had a lot of game time and the problem is they don’t get reserve games and all that now which gives people games to play”, McAvennie told Football Insider.
“It used to be even when you’re not in the team you’d still get games, Palma, we know he’s a wonderful talent, the problem is, he’ll do something brilliant but then you’ve got to do that again and again.
“That’s what you’ve got to do at Celtic, you can’t just do it once, take the plaudits, and ride off into the sunset, you’ve got to do it every week.
“That’s what players like Callum McGregor do week in week out and I was critical of him a while back.
“Quite rightly, whether it was him or whether it was the team, he wasn’t getting the ball into Kyogo.
“That’s what you’ve got to do, you’ve got to turn up every week, he never gave the ball away McGregor, Palma is giving balls away.
“The manager will have a go because there are boys there now that are desperate to play and play week in and week out.
“If he doesn’t do it, he won’t be back in.
“I would love to play under Brendan Rodgers because you know if you don’t play, you’re out, it doesn’t matter who you are.
“He took Callum McGregor off when he didn’t play well and that’s the captain so that was a statement for me.
“It wasn’t at the weekend but at the end of last season he took him off and that’s a statement, that’s putting a marker down.
“It’s worked because he’s worked his socks off in the summer and he’s back and he’s sharp and he’s fit.
“People have to have a look at that if Palma doesn’t do that, train the way McGregor does and put the effort in.
“It’s not just games, it’s every day at training you’ve got to put it in, there is always somebody watching you train at Celtic.
“I think he’s here for the long haul but whether he gets into the team in the near future, I don’t know.”
In other news, Celtic star feared out for months could be back ‘in a week’ – expert.
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