Daryl Horgan admits Republic of Ireland team-mate James McCarthy has found himself between a rock and a hard place at Celtic.
The former Hibs winger believes the 31-year-old midfielder faces the biggest stick-or-twist decision of
his career but has backed his international colleague to trigger a reversal of fortune by becoming a Hoops mainstay. Reports suggest McCarthy is weighing up his future after failing to make the bench for the 2-0 win over Aberdeen and he remains a wanted man in England.
The ex-Everton man has been shunted down the queue under boss Ange Postecoglou and could leave during this transfer window despite having three years remaining on his deal, with the arrival of Aaron Mooy another first-team hurdle. A Parkhead exit now appears likely with the player at a critical crossroads but Horgan is adamant his career still has plenty of mileage left.
He said: “If James is to leave Celtic then it’ll be a huge wrench for him as a supporter of the club. I know first-hand about players who are Celtic fans who would do anything to be there.
"It becomes the boyhood dream versus being forced to decide to continue your career elsewhere to prolong it for as long as you possibly can. Because of the player James was and still is, there will always be attractive offers for him.
“But we all know football. You do get forgotten quickly. James is only 31 and wants to play at the highest level he can. He wants to play regularly.
“The decisions you make later on in your career are more final and can be more definitive. If you make the wrong move then there are consequences for your family where you unsettle your wife and kids.
“Every move can be huge for a family, especially if you’re making a lot of them. It’s a very short window when you’re a professional footballer so it’s a decision only James can make. Does he stick it out and wait for his opportunity with Celtic or will he have to jump ship at some point?”
The football forums and social media have already been judge and jury over McCarthy’s future at Celtic after he struggled for game time last season.
But Horgan knows public opinion is dominated by extremes and believes the midfielder only needs games to get his Hoops career flying. He said: “The nature of football is to write players off at an instant. That has only become worse since everyone has an opinion on social media.
"Everything can gain traction so quickly and reasonable middle-of-the-road responses on social media don’t get many likes. It either needs to be massively negative or massively positive to make any impact and unfortunately the negative ones appear to snowball much quicker.
“The bottom line is that we also have no idea what the thoughts and plans of the manager Ange Postecoglou are. We can only speculate but we all know James is a fantastic footballer and you don’t lose that overnight, he’s just been left out of one squad.
“Every player needs to be able to generate a bit of momentum and build their confidence. You chuck a player in who hasn’t played for two months and expect them to be brilliant, it doesn’t work that way, it can be very hard.
“That’s when the negatives start to creep in. Players are thrown in and expected to perform at the highest level yet they haven’t played consistently for a period of time.
“That’s not easy for someone who lacks that match sharpness and confidence as well. Every footballer needs to be built up and told they are a good player, regardless of who they are. They also need to be told to go out there and show it.”
Horgan doesn’t need to look into the howling world of internet message boards to get a glimpse of how McCarthy’s return to Scottish football has been regarded as something of a non-starter. But he only wants to talk of a player he continues to hold in the highest regard.
He said: “James has just been so unlucky with injuries and that’s caused us to miss one another in a lot of Ireland squads. When I speak of him as a footballer I talk about a player who has immense talent.
"I saw that straight away in the games I’ve played alongside him. He’s someone who had a lengthy period in the English Premier League and he excelled at that level.
“Technically he’s brilliant but his ability to win the ball back is relentless. It wasn’t until I saw that at first hand that I saw how good he was. I couldn’t believe how good his ball-winning was.
“There were training games where you wouldn’t even see him coming at you and then his ability to take the ball from you was incredible.
"He’s a ball-winner and a player who can be the foundation to get a team moving forward quickly from defence into attack. That’s an aspect of his game that he’s unbelievable at.
"James earned his move to the Premier League and managed to play for a huge club like Everton for years. That says everything about his quality.
“He is so highly thought of by so many in the game and his Everton manager was Roberto Martinez who knows a player when he sees one. He’ll know all about the technical quality which James has.
“I watched Celtic on Sunday and thought they were excellent. There is so much depth and quality sitting and waiting to come off the bench.
“David Turnbull and Aaron Mooy are examples of that and they came on in midfield roles – then there’s James Forrest who didn’t get on.
“The quality they have on the bench is unbelievable. But Celtic should have that, they are a huge club with a big squad who are facing a lot of games and they need everyone to be at it.
“I’d have thought a player like James McCarthy would be an effective option to either start or come into games at a very high level. If Celtic can get the best out of him then why wouldn’t he be used in what’s going to be a long and demanding season?
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