‘Dressing room sources’ why claims in The Athletic carry credibility

The Athletic has made a serious claim over who signed James McCarthy on a reported four year contract.

Yesterday, after four substitute appearances the midfielder started his first match as a Celtic player but like the rest of his team-mates failed to make any impression as bottom-of-the-table Livingston pulled off a surprise 1-0 win.

McCarthy was signed the same day as Joe Hart, in his time at the club the former England keeper has taken on the captaincy from Callum McGregor and pulled off vital saves in a number of matches.

After a defeat it is easy to play the blame game but taking things a few steps further The Athletic reports:

Dressing room sources have spoken of how James McCarthy has struggled in training with the pace and intensity of Postecoglou’s sessions and the demands of his midfielders. The Athletic understands neither Postecoglou nor the scouting department had meaningful input into signing McCarthy, and the Republic of Ireland international looked uncomfortable during the Livingston game. He often needed to take two or three touches and misplaced many of his passes, sometimes from close range while under no pressure. It was an incredibly awkward first start.

If the manager and scouting department didn’t promote the signing of McCarthy it does ask serious questions of the workings of the club.

In many circumstances a quote from ‘dressing room sources’ could be dismissed but a year ago Dermot Desmond provided The Athletic with an exclusive interview. In one memorable line the businessman claimed that Neil Lennon’s squad was superior to the one that Martin O’Neill took to the 2003 Europa League Final in Seville.

When a team is losing issues come to the surface, until McCarthy finds form and Celtic return to winning there is bound to be speculation around who was involved in the summer recruitment of 10 first team players.