Stiliyan Petrov has admitted that James McCarthy will struggle to make a big contribution at Celtic until the midfielder has improved his fitness, via quotes by the Glasgow Times.
Ange Postecoglou brought the Irishman to Parkhead at the start of August to improve the core of his new side. McCarthy was a free agent after leaving Crystal Palace at the end of his contract in June. But the 30-year-old is yet to get his Hoops career out of first gear.
McCarthy has made five appearances for Celtic across all competitions, yet has only played 148-minutes. The 42-cap international also only made his first start last Sunday in defeat to Livingston for his second Premiership outing.
Petrov expects McCarthy will eventually turn a corner once the Celtic new boy has built his fitness. The Glasgow-born anchor cut a bit-part role during his final year at Crystal Palace, with 11 starts over 17 appearances. Averaging 52-minutes per game, or 10 full 90-minutes.
“It’s very difficult for any player coming in who hasn’t played in a long time,” Petrov said. “You need to be at full strength, so it’s been hard for him to hit the ground running. It’s going to take him time to build his fitness.
“We know he’s a good player. He’s played a lot of games in the top league in England, so we know he’s got it. But in football, these days, you have to run. It’s difficult if you are not match fit, but I’m sure the team behind Ange are working hard to get him up to speed.”
Were Celtic wrong to sign McCarthy, or will he come good like Petrov expects?
McCarthy will desperately want to enjoy a productive career with Celtic, but will need to build fitness, like Petrov expects. Injuries plagued his final year with Crystal Palace, missing spells with groin and hamstring problems.
It is hard to fairly judge McCarthy’s impact at Celtic so far given his limited opportunities under Postecoglou to date. But his start on Sunday at Livingston offered the best window into what he is currently bringing to the side.
McCarthy moved possession well enough to not cause much concern until the midfielder’s lack of fitness began to hurt Celtic. He also lacked any forceful penetration into the home defence and could not battle Livi out of possession often enough. Areas he must improve.
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