Six starts Celt tipped for second season turnaround

James McCarthy is being tipped to turnaround his Celtic career. 

After years of being linked with a move to Celtic the deal finally went through at the start of August with the midfielder expected to be a key element of Ange Postecoglou’s new look side. 

Knowing the demands and expectations of the club blended with more than a decade of English football looked like providing a priceless contribution to the biggest turnover Celtic have undertaken this century. 

It never quite worked out that way for club or player. McCarthy started just six matches, signed the same day Joe Hart made 54 appearances in goal assisting Callum McGregor with a combination of experience, leadership and know how. 

Ange Postecoglou brought in three midfielders during the January transfer window but former Hamilton boss Billy Reid told the Daily Record that there is still time for McCarthy to turn things round:

James is in a position where he needs to prove himself all over again and show Celtic the player he can be. 

He’s been blighted by injuries in the latter part of his career but people forget that he had an incredible amount of senior appearances as a teenager and had huge demands placed on him. 

Those challenges were met head on and he not only showed his ability but also a huge character which he’ll need to call upon once again. But nobody needs to convince me he can still be a big success at Celtic. 

There will be some who have their doubts but if James can get minutes under his belt then I’d back him to make the cynics eat their words. 

Ange Postecoglou has a superb array of midfield players and it’s like anything in football, it’s all about proving that you deserve to play. That’s the test for James at Celtic and it’s a test he’ll already be aiming to rise to next season. 

I remember when we won the Championship at Hamilton and James was 16. The usual questions started about whether he could do it in the Premiership – James answered them by dominating the Young Player of the Year awards in Scotland. 

McCarthy will be 32 in November.