One of the few pleasures of this season has been to watch as two of our players have evolved into real footballers of quality, two players who will anchor the next iteration of Celtic and be playing for us far into the future.
Young centre back Stephen Welsh and central midfielder David Turnbull look as if they will play huge roles in the Celtic team to come.
These guys will not only be central to the future of Celtic; they will almost certainly be critical to the development of the national team.
Normally, I’m all for Celtic players representing their country, but recently, although Clarke is at the helm and not the village idiot McLeish any longer, I have drifted from that view.
It’s because of the global health crisis, and the number of our players who have been lost to us during this campaign as a result of it. I stopped wanting to see our players play for their national teams.
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What’s more, I knew I’d be extending that into the summer.
Our players need time with the new management team more than they need to be playing extra games.
They need to be working on Celtic, not being worked in the service of the SFA.
I want our players to spend the summer relaxing; it sometimes seems to me that the likes of McGregor haven’t had a proper, long term, rest in an age.
Welsh and Turnbull, in particular, don’t need this at this time.
There will be other Finals.
There will be other opportunities for them.
These aren’t guys at the end of their careers knowing this is their last chance. Clarke has indicated that he wants to show loyalty to the veteran players who got him here; most of them are nowhere near as good as Turnbull but who might never get to play at a Euros or World Cup again.
So let Clarke reward the guys who did it for him. Celtic fans should be glad for that.
We should be glad if the likes of Welsh and Turnbull get the summer they need to relax and recuperate and return at the end of it all ready for business and determined to prove themselves for club and country both.
It will be to all our benefits in the long run.