Stand with the captain tomorrow. Stand with Celtic.

Celtic are struggling again. We are in a tactical mess. We look scattered, divided, lost and, at times, leaderless. It feels as though the Bhoys in green and white are standing on the edge of an abyss, desperately trying to find a way back.

And yet, somehow, there are still Celtic fans who think the answer is to turn on one man.

Our captain. Callum McGregor. Honestly, I have had enough.

Recently, I have heard more and more criticism falling on McGregor, and I simply cannot understand how so much of Celtic’s current situation is being laid at his feet.

Celtic are making mistakes? McGregor is blamed. Celtic are tactically disorganised? McGregor is blamed. Celtic cannot find shape, structure or consistency? Somehow, that too is McGregor’s fault.

And when Celtic lose, once again Callum McGregor is expected to carry the blame.

For Christ sake. Enough is enough.

I am not saying our captain is perfect. No footballer is. I am not saying McGregor should be immune from criticism when he has a poor game. Of course not. But there is a massive difference between fair football criticism and making one player the bloody scapegoat for everything that is wrong with Celtic.

Callum McGregor cannot carry the failures of the board on his shoulders. He cannot fix recruitment mistakes, repair tactical problems created by the coaching staff, organise every player around him or prevent teammates from making mistakes.

He cannot simultaneously be captain, midfielder, manager, sporting director and emergency repairman for an entire football club.

He is one man. One fucking man.

And yet some people seem determined to put the weight of Celtic’s problems on his back and then wonder why he cannot carry it all.

I refuse to do that. Because when I look at Callum McGregor, I don’t just see a player struggling in a difficult Celtic team. I see a man who has given an enormous part of his life to this football club and who this football club consistently lets down.

He came through the Celtic system, lived the dream of pulling on that famous green and white shirt and stayed loyal throughout his career.

Football has changed. Players move. Careers are short. Loyalty can feel like an increasingly rare currency. Callum McGregor stayed.

He chose Celtic. He became captain. He lifted trophies. He experienced the greatest highs and painful lows. He has stood in the middle of Celtic Park wearing the armband and carried the responsibility that comes with being captain of this football club.

So, when I see supporters talking about him as though he is the root of everything that is wrong, I honestly feel shocked. Not because he should never be criticised, but because some people appear to have forgotten who they are talking about.

Sometimes anger makes us blind. Sometimes disappointment makes us forget. A few bad performances can make people forget years of service, and judgement can become so loud that gratitude disappears completely.

That is what we need to be careful about now.

Celtic are going through a difficult period. The tactics are questionable, the organisation is questionable and the team has looked disconnected. There have been performances that simply have not been good enough for a club of Celtic’s size and ambition.

Those things must be discussed. But criticism needs to be directed towards the actual problems.

If the coaching structure is failing, examine it. If the tactics are failing, change them. If recruitment has left gaps in the squad, address them. If players are underperforming, demand better. If boardroom decisions are contributing to this situation, question them. But don’t simply point at Callum McGregor and say: there is your problem.

He is not the entire problem, and he certainly cannot be expected to solve every problem. And whilst we’re examining Callum McGregor, we’re missing the real issues.

What worries me most is how quickly some supporters look for one person to blame when things go wrong. I worry when loyalty becomes conditional, or when a player who has devoted so much of his career to Celtic is treated as though one difficult spell erases everything that came before it.

Because what happens when Celtic really need us? Is that the moment we turn on our own? Or is that when we remember what being a Celtic supporter is supposed to mean?

I know what I choose. I choose Celtic, and because I choose Celtic, I choose to stand beside our captain. That does not mean blindly defending every performance. It means remembering the bigger picture. The years. The loyalty. The trophies. What Callum McGregor has represented for Celtic.

We are not Celtic supporters only when we are winning, when the football is flowing and Celtic Park is bouncing.

We are Celtic supporters when it is difficult too. Especially then.

We sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” before every game. Sometimes we need to ask ourselves whether we really mean those words or whether we are simply singing them.

I know how frustrating this situation is. I am angry too. I want better football, better tactics and a Celtic side that looks organised, united, aggressive and hungry again.

But I will not make Callum McGregor the scapegoat for all of it.

Not our captain. Not a man who has given so much of his career to Celtic, and not when there are bigger questions that need to be answered elsewhere.

So, fellow Celtic fans, this is my plea.

Stand behind the club while still demanding that the people responsible for fixing the problems actually fix them.

Demand better from those with the power to make the necessary changes, but stop tearing our own people apart.

Callum McGregor deserves to know that the supporters who have watched him give his career to this club have not suddenly forgotten everything he has done.

I certainly haven’t. And I won’t.

Because when Celtic are standing on the edge of the darkness, that is precisely when we should be holding each other up — not pushing each other over the edge.

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