McAvennie suggests Celtic have ‘signings lined up to join’ as soon as January window opens
Celtic “won’t win the league” unless they complete quality January signings able to replace players departing for the Asian Cup.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, former Hoops and West Ham striker Frank McAvennie is “very, very afraid” of the club’s title hopes, with much of the squad not being “good enough” this season.
Brendan Rodgers is likely to lose many Asian players, including Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda and Oh Hyeon-gyu, this January, who will head to Qatar and be away from Glasgow for up to a month.
The Hoops have faced a drop in form with consecutive defeats in the league against Hearts and Kilmarnock and may slip to second if Rangers win their game in hand.
McAvennie urged the club to bring in players ready to play in the starting XI and not more “projects”, otherwise the situation at Parkhead could get even worse.
“There could be a load of players leaving [for the Asian Cup] that would all be in the team,” he told Football Insider.
“What is Rodgers doing to do? I’ve got a feeling that he’s got players lined up to join straight away, but please God make them good players!
“We don’t need another project, we’ve got enough of them.
“These boys might be good down the line, but we need players that are going to walk into the team and hold down a place.
“Your David Turnbulls and Mickey Johnsons – they’re not holding down a spot and haven’t been good enough.
“We need players who come in and claim their place – that’s what you need.
“Turnbull has had a chance and he’s not grasped it and Johnson’s not either.
“When we lose these players when they go to Asia, I don’t know what’s doing to happen.
“If we don’t get anyone in, I’d be very, very afraid. I’d hate to say but we won’t win the league.”
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