Celtic’s Priority Should Be To Get Our Two Warriors Fit For Ibrox.

The boss has given a lengthy interview to Celtic’s internal news team and updated them on a few things, and he’s spoken about the season so far and his frustrations with it. Amidst that stuff was news on Cameron Carter Vickers, who is back in training and may even be in contention for the weekend. That is obviously very positive.

There was little on Callum McGregor, but the Scotland boss talked to the player the other day and he’s suggested that perhaps the injury isn’t as bad as we had feared. Nevertheless, as I said yesterday, the nagging fear over Callum will persist until he is back in the side. The sooner that happens the happier all of us will be.

Still, Carter Vickers is our other great leader in the team and whereas doing without one of these two players is certainly workable, if not ideal, even if it doesn’t fill us with confidence, doing without both of them is another story entirely and would cast a significant doubt over our chances of getting something out of this season beyond a hard luck story.

The question as to which of the two players we miss the most is an interesting one.

We’ve won plenty of games without one or the other, but I reckon the loss of McGregor hurts most because so much of our football flows through him and without him we’re definitely less effective and less efficient as a footballing unit.

Still, when Carter Vickers plays you can see the impact it has on the team; he is a calming influence, he makes everyone relax and play better. The man is missed, there is no doubt about that, and so news that he is set to return will gladden the hearts of every fan.

The worry – and I don’t like to bring it up – is that we might, again, rush him back too early, so if I had my way, we’d leave him out at the weekend even if he’s technically fit to play. At the very least, I’d have him sit out at least part of the match; bring him on late or take him off early, whichever meets our needs. But I wouldn’t play him for 90 minutes.

The objective, obviously, is to get him as fit as possible for Ibrox. There is another game between now and then, although whether we want to risk him on Livingston’s abominable plastic pitch is another matter. It’s a chance I wouldn’t take with McGregor either.

The fitness battle for these two is going to go to the wire. Go to Ibrox with them both and I’ll fancy our chances of leaving with three points, and top of the league. Go without one of them and that becomes more like 50/50. If we go there without them both the rest of the team is really going to have to pull it together if we’re still to be in this title race.

The way I see it, we’re going to need at least one of them on the pitch for that game, and if I had to choose it would be McGregor, because we’ve been to Ibrox without the big man and got back with a result, but I cannot remember us going there without McGregor. I don’t even want to think about that sober. Yet he’s the least likely of the pair to make it because he’ll almost certainly not play against Livingston at any point.

McGregor is a machine though. And I can see him being ready for that game, and hardly missing a step. Carter Vickers will worry me through every minute he plays from now until then, and Rodgers must be tempted to wrap him in cotton wool and stick him in the stand. Even lacking a little bit of sharpness, he adds so much to our central defence and everyone around him.

That game must be our priority. This weekend, and Livingston away, will take care of themselves. Drop points in those and we don’t deserve to win this title anyway.

Brendan knows where the fate of this campaign will be decided; at Ibrox. Win there, go back on top and this race would be ours to lose. Win our next two and get both players fit for that, and we’re laughing.