Callum McGregor admits Celtic must rediscover their attacking identity after Dundee United draw
Callum McGregor spoke to the mainstream media last night in the aftermath of Celtic’s frustrating 2-2 draw against Dundee United at Celtic Park…
Both Cameron Carter-Vickers and Mika Baur have spoken about the disjointed nature of Celtic shape and performances this season and now the Celtic captain echos these opinions of his teammates and perhaps goes even further…
Callum McGregor has experienced countless nights like last night’s frustrating draw with Dundee United. Celtic pushed forward relentlessly in the second half, pinning Jim Goodwin’s team back inside their own penalty area as a raucous home crowd roars them on, with the winning goal seemingly only a matter of time.
More often than not, the end justifies the means. However, Celtic’s attacking approach can leave them vulnerable to counter-attacks, a weakness exposed during their 2-2 draw with Dundee United.
Abdoulaye Yoro found himself clean through on Sam Johnstone deep into the second half, only for Mika Baur to produce a remarkable recovery and prevent United from claiming their first victory in Glasgow’s east end since 1992.
Celtic’s attacking approach leaves them exposed
The visitors had already threatened to spoil the evening by half-time. Although Camilo Duran opened the scoring inside 20 minutes, two quick-fire goals from Zach Sapsford and Neil Farrugia turned the game around and put Dundee United in front.
Celtic responded after the interval, with the introductions of Haissem Hassan and Jota providing the attacking impetus that had been missing. Both players offered natural width, repeatedly taking on opposition full-backs and stretching United’s defensive line.
Jota delivered a characteristic cross from deep for Liam Scales to equalise, while Hassan almost found the net with a powerful long-range effort shortly after coming on.
Martin O’Neill had initially deployed Callum Osmand and Camilo Duran, two natural strikers, in the wide positions, with Kasper Hogh leading the line. However, both Osmand and Hogh were withdrawn at half-time as Celtic reshaped their attack.
The changes produced a more cohesive performance, with Celtic creating enough opportunities to have won the match on another night. Nevertheless, the inconsistency in the team’s shape and personnel continues to present problems.
Callum McGregor calls for greater clarity in Celtic’s attacking roles
Asked at his media conference whether the use of strikers and wingers in wide positions was creating tactical difficulties, Celtic captain McGregor offered an honest assessment of the situation.
“I think probably what you’re seeing is a lot of that, it’s not really having a nailed down profile for each of the positions,” McGregor said. “The players behave like a winger, or they behave like a striker.
“You can get away with it for a few games but if it’s a striker playing as a winger, you are going to get that behaviour a lot of the time. You’ve got enough quality so you can score goals and get away with it. But we have to try to get the team functioning the way it should.
“Then that will alleviate all the other problems that we are encountering, where it becomes a bit [like] basketball, you lose control and spend the next 15 minutes trying to get possession back.
“You waste energy at that point and then when you need to get a goal, you are coming down as opposed to up the way. There are a lot of wee bits to piece together and pull together, but there was a lot to like in the second half in terms of how we should look in the performance.”
Celtic captain highlights the importance of controlling games
O’Neill also spoke about Celtic’s struggles to maintain control following the draw, with McGregor acknowledging that improving in this area remains a priority.
“That’s something we are trying hard to fix,” McGregor stated. “What that does is bring you control in the game and there are less counter-attack moments.
“Motherwell was as close to the way we would want it to look. When you get to certain areas of the pitch, of course you want to attack.
“But if it’s not on or there is no space, then you cap out and pass it to your mate. Then we try to recirculate the ball into a better area. That has always been the message.
“When you get one or two new players, you have to really hone in on that. The temptation can be to do it on your own, but actually if you are giving yourself to the team, you will get goals and assists because we will get you to the right areas to go and affect the game properly. It’s something we are working hard on.”
For McGregor, establishing that control is fundamental to the way Celtic want to play, allowing the team to reduce the number of transitions and avoid being dragged into an end-to-end contest. Not sign before Brendan Rodgers arrives in the summer of 2016 has this problem been as stark as it is this season.
McGregor questions sustainability of Celtic’s performances
The Celtic skipper believes the team must rediscover the consistency that has underpinned its most successful performances, rather than relying on individual quality to overcome structural problems.
“For players, you want control in games as ultimately that cuts everything else down,” McGregor continued. “It’ll cut running and transitions down and that is the type of team we want to be – and have been.
“When you have a template like that you know works, you try to get as close to it as you can. That is what brings success and at times, it has been good.
“We have been free flowing and scored goals. But it’s over a 60 game period. How sustainable is it really? That is the question. We are getting closer to that in the second half against United and the Motherwell game. But there is a long way to go and a lot of games to play. The team will get better.”
Celtic have now won just three of their last nine matches, making Wednesday’s dropped points both frustrating and reflective of the difficulties they have encountered in recent weeks.
Despite the disappointment, McGregor believes the squad can improve as the players become more familiar with the demands of the system and the principles required to make it work.
Staggered pre-season has hampered Celtic’s progress
McGregor also pointed to the lack of a fully synchronised pre-season as a factor behind Celtic’s struggles to establish their identity.
“If you remember back to pre-season, boys were at the World Cup as well, so it was kind of staggered return for quite a lot of them,” he explained. “You get to quite a bit through pre-season, you’ve still got some of the young boys with you, some guys sort of drip-feeding back in, so it’s hard to get the sort of core 20 first-team players back together, and sometimes you’re actually learning by the time the games start.
“There’s been a wee bit of transition with some key positions and areas on the pitch that if you’re going to play this way and it’s successful, then you really need to sort of nail on your principles.
“It does take time and it’s a bit trying to get the forward players on the ball in the most effective areas, then you’ll start to see it sort of coming together.
“The Motherwell game was probably as close as what we’ve been to a really controlled performance. It’s just trying to layer up on top of that and the games come thick and fast every three days, so there isn’t really a lot of training time now.
“It’s more sort of video and trying to reinforce it that way, but quite a lot of the time the boys are sort of learning on the job as well.”
Celtic face a race against time to find consistency
With matches arriving every three days, Celtic have limited opportunities on the training pitch to address their shortcomings. Instead, O’Neill and his coaching staff must rely heavily on video analysis and tactical reinforcement to help the players understand their roles.
McGregor’s comments underline the challenge facing Celtic. The quality is clearly there to create chances and score goals, but the team must find a more reliable structure to sustain its attacking threat without sacrificing control.
The second-half improvement against Dundee United, alongside the performance against Motherwell, offers encouragement. However, with only three victories in their last nine outings, Celtic need to turn those encouraging spells into a consistent pattern of performance if they are to get their season back on track.
Next up for Celtic is a difficult trip to Falkirk who have won their last three matches to recover from a particularly poor start to the season, for a John McGlynn side’s standards. Kasper Hogh played on an artificial surface at Bodo Glimt, so having him in team makes sense, especially if there are two WINGERS in the team to send in some deliveries.
Hassan’s back post crosses after cutting inside last night found the position that Hogh was occupying in the first half and was never found. It’s not rocket science….
Watch Callum McGregor’s Mainstream Media conference below. A reminder that the Celtic Fan Media remains banned subject to a review the club that was promised in 2025…
