Paul Lambert has issued a stark warning to Celtic captain Callum McGregor, insisting that every player at the club is replaceable without exception.
McGregor delivered Celtic an ultimatum back in April, demanding the club match his ambitions or risk losing him as captain.
It was a bold declaration from one of the most decorated players in the club’s modern history, raising serious questions about his long-term future at Parkhead.
Lambert, however, believes manager Martin O’Neill will ultimately dictate what happens to McGregor regardless of any public statements the skipper makes.
The Parkhead legend told Record Sport: “Is Callum irreplaceable? No. Everybody’s replaceable. For me, you look at the best Celtic midfielders in Bobby Murdoch and Paul McStay.”
Lambert continued: “Those lads leave and Celtic keeps going. Nobody’s irreplaceable. If people think that, then you’re in grave danger.”
He expanded his point by arguing that every footballer must confront the reality of competition, form, and the relentless turning of football’s cycle.
Lambert said: “Everybody has to have a shelf life and everybody has to think, ‘If I don’t perform well, I’m out of the team here’. Or you leave or you retire.”
McGregor turned 33 last month and remarkably played in all but two of Celtic’s gruelling 59-game campaign last season, helping the club win the Double.
Despite that extraordinary contribution, Lambert insists the club must begin planning for a future without the captain sooner rather than later.
He said: “There’s no natural successor to Callum at the club. There needs to be a long-term plan, unless they have somebody coming through the academy.”
Lambert was equally direct when addressing the broader squad situation, warning that a lack of competition within the dressing room can lead to stagnation.
He said: “If you don’t have competition, you become stagnant. And you just don’t want that.”
Celtic face a significant summer rebuild, with fringe players Reo Hatate and Paulo Bernardo expected to depart alongside Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose contract has expired.
Nottingham Forest remain keen on £25 million-rated Arne Engels, while Swedish World Cup star Benjamin Nygren is attracting strong interest from elsewhere.
Lambert acknowledged Nygren’s impressive 21-goal return last season but questioned whether the young attacker delivers with enough consistency to be considered indispensable.
He said: “Even though he’s scored 21 goals, it’s the consistency level you have to perform. You can’t play mediocre at Celtic. You have to be bang at it every single week.”
O’Neill has already offloaded a dozen players this summer but has yet to complete his first incoming signing of the transfer window.
Lambert, who captained O’Neill’s iconic 2003 Seville squad, is confident his former manager will have a clear vision of exactly who he needs to bring in.
He said: “When you lose 12 players, you have to replace them. But you’ve got to replace them with better. The manager will know exactly what he’ll want in terms of players and knows better than anybody that at Celtic you have to win games.”
About the Author
