Nobody’s irreplaceable.. I’m pretty sure the club would look at it if there was somebody better. Celtic are more important than any individual
Seville skipper Lambert’s astonishing warning to McGregor after captain’s ‘match my ambitions or I’m off’ message to Parkhead chiefs
CALLUM McGREGOR delivered Celtic an ultimatum in April.
Match his ambition – or the captain could leave his beloved club.
It was a bold statement from one of the Hoops’ most decorated players.
But Paul Lambert warned the decision could be taken out of McGregor’s hands. McGregor issued the extraordinary warning last season before Celts defied the odds to win the Double.
However, Lambert reckons Martin O’Neill will dictate the stalwart’s future as the veteran boss strives to transform his squad this summer.
The Parkhead legend told Record Sport: “Is Callum irreplaceable? No. Everybody’s replaceable. For me, you look at the best Celtic midfielders in Bobby Murdoch and Paul McStay.
“Those lads leave and Celtic keeps going. Nobody’s irreplaceable. If people think that, then you’re in grave danger.
“Everybody has to have a shelf life and everybody has to think, ‘If I don’t perform well, I’m out of the team here’. Or you leave or you retire.
“It moves on. It’s a big wheel. It just keeps turning. So you can’t have any sentimental value. No, I always think everybody’s replaceable.
“If Celtic can get somebody better, then they get somebody better and they play and then you have a fight in your hands. Off the field, he’s been really, really good. But you expect that if you’re a captain. You don’t get a pat on the back for leading it.
“That’s your job, really. You’ve got to lead it and treat everybody in the dressing room with respect and things like that.
“But Celtic’s job is to get the best possible team, regardless of who is playing. You have to always improve. and always get better.
“It doesn’t matter who – you can’t play loyal because somebody’s a good guy. You’ve got to perform.
“I’m pretty sure Celtic would look at it if there was somebody better. Celtic’s more important than any individual. If somebody better pops up, then you have to go and try and get them.”
Warrior McGregor battled through the pain barrier last season and, remarkably, played in all but two of Celtic’s gruelling 59-game campaign.
The serial-winning skipper turned 33 last month but Lambert believes the club must start planning for life without the modern-day great.
He said: “There’s no natural successor to Callum at the club. There needs to be a long-term plan, unless they have somebody coming through the academy. “But you certainly need a like-for-like if somebody is out injured. I had that all my days. You have to have it. “Even as a manager, you try to get what’s virtually two for two in every position that is equal.
“You look at the bench at
Celtic, some are kids, whereas big, strong clubs and teams will have what can make the difference. If you don’t have competition, you become stagnant. And you just don’t want that.
“So if the manager says, ‘I need another sitter who can pass it’, then that’s the manager’s job to go, ‘what can I get better here?’ You can’t have a soft spot really for anybody. I’m pretty sure Calum would respect that. I’ve been a manager, so I know how it works.
“You’re always trying to improve your squad and your team because you want to be successful. That’s one thing Celtic need to look at this season, is they have to be successful again because last season’s finished, it’s all gone.” If McGregor sticks around, he could yet find himself anchoring an entirely new-look midfield.
Fringe players Reo Hatate and Paulo Bernardo are expected to leave, while Alex OxladeChamberlain’s contract has expired. Nottingham Forest remain keen on £25million-rated Arne Engels, with Swedish World Cup star Benjamin Nygren also attracting strong interest.
Lambert anticipates a major squad overhaul in the coming weeks and admits he wouldn’t stand in the way of enigmatic 21-goal playmaker Nygren if a money-spinning offer arrives.
He said: “The problem with him is his consistency. You know what you’re getting from Callum and Kieran Tierney.
“But some of the lads now, they’ll hit one in five or six. It’s not consistent enough and Nygren falls into that. Even though he’s scored 21 goals, it’s the consistency level you have to perform.
“You can’t play mediocre at Celtic. You have to be bang at it every single week.”
O’Neill has offloaded a dozen players this summer but has yet to make his first signing. Lambert – captain of the Irishman’s iconic Seville team in 2003 – believes his former gaffer will have a string of targets lined up.
The 56-year-old added: “When you lose 12 players, you have to replace them.
“But you’ve got to replace them with better. The manager will know exactly what he’ll want in terms of players and knows better than anybody that at Celtic you have to win games.”
Everyone at Celtic is replaceable. Bobby Murdoch and Paul McStay left and club kept on going
PAUL LAMBERT ISSUES A WARNING