Celtic never replaced one of the heroes of Barcelona 2012.

I was very impressed yesterday by the number of tributes paid to Victor Wanyama from across Celtic land, from former players and managers to supporters, after the announcement of his retirement. It is a great shame that a player who still seemed to have so much to offer the game has retired this early.

By modern standards, it is unusual.

He is one of my favourite Celtic players of the last 20 years.

Victor arrived as a raw youngster, and there was no immediate sign that he was going to become a first-team regular so quickly. But from almost his debut match, it was obvious that this was not someone brought in to sit on the bench.

He had everything the modern footballer could want. Physicality, athleticism, composure, and a very good sense of the game. He read it superbly. In a position where we badly needed reliability, he gave us exactly that.

I have always been sceptical of the so-called strategy, but when it has produced, it has really produced. Victor Wanyama was one of the genuine success stories. He was a player the club identified properly, recruited properly, and fitted into the side at exactly the right time.

We clearly needed that type of player and he stepped into the team with real authority. On top of everything else, he was versatile. We were as comfortable using him in central midfield as we were in central defence. Moreover, he looked at home in both roles.

But I always thought his best position was as a defensive anchor in midfield, and that is why we have missed him so much.

He could break things up, link play, and make life miserable for attacking players. He proved that again and again, domestically and in Europe.

Wanyama was one of the outstanding performers on that famous night against Barcelona, even getting the opening goal.

We never really replaced Victor Wanyama. I genuinely do not believe we ever found someone who could play that role as effectively as he did.

It is a classic example of this club sleeping at the wheel, of doing exactly what I wrote about earlier. The club is never quite repairing the roof when the sun is shining. It is never quite making hay while we can.

What happened instead was that Scott Brown was converted into a defensive midfielder, and although he was exceptional there for many years, we lost one of our best midfield players in the process. Additionally, we never properly went out to find someone as natural, as complete, and as ready-made for that role as Wanyama had been.

I think it is fair to say we missed him from the moment he left, and that we have missed him ever since. It sounds absurd to say that, given how long ago it was. But it is true.

From Scott Brown to Callum McGregor, neither of those players started out as a defensive midfielder. Neither was as naturally suited to it as Wanyama was. That area of the pitch still cries out for a player of that quality. It is one of the reasons the squad has looked so imbalanced for such a long time.

So yes, this morning Paulina wrote that we need to rebuild the defence as completely as we need to rebuild the attack, and I completely agree with her. We all know the forward line needs major work.

However, midfield is another area where doing nothing is simply not an option. The imbalance there is obvious to anyone who looks at the squad. We have too many similar types of players and not enough flexibility because of it.

That is what we need to address, and although it will not be Victor Wanyama, it has to be a Victor Wanyama type.

In his relatively brief spell at Celtic, he showed us exactly what we have been missing ever since.

That is why I have never stopped lamenting the day he left.

It is why, every now and again, I come back to this point and argue that it is an area of the pitch we cannot afford to neglect.

If our next manager makes that position a priority, I will be happier than I have been in a while. This is because it will mean that person has the clarity to see where we need to improve.

Not just in the glamorous parts of the pitch, but right across it.

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