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Pat Bonner delivers his verdict on Paulo Bernardo after Celtic’s weekend loss at Hearts

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Most of the coverage of Celtic’s weekend fixture against Hearts has been dominated by the match officials and VAR.

With Celtic now in the process of appealing the red card given to Hyunjun Yang, the story surrounding the video refereeing at Tynecastle looks set to rumble on this week.

And whilst that carries on, much of the analysis of the game has been neglected. Like just how much Celtic missed Callum McGregor.

The Celtic captain has been ruled out for at least two games by Brendan Rodgers but at Tynecastle on Sunday, his omission from the team was glaring.

So was the performance of his replacement, Paulo Bernardo. Now, in fairness to the Portuguese, he was taken off at half-time to allow the inclusion of Kyogo Furuhashi but Pat Bonner is still convinced of the 22-year-old and has raised questions about what he actually contributes to the team.

Bonner said [BBC Radio Scotland], “They miss Callum McGregor, there’s no question about that. They’ve nobody to really replace Callum McGregor.

“They are weak in midfield. They’ve lost Aaron Mooy, they’ve lost McGregor, [David] Turnbull is gone.
“And they haven’t strengthened in that position really.

“Bernardo’s come in. But what can I say about Bernardo? What does he contribute to the team from that perspective?

“Especially when you’re down to ten men.”

Callum McGregor’s importance to Celtic

Celtic have gone on and won a game this season after being reduced to ten men before. Joe Hart‘s red card against Livingston back in September in the 3-0 win meant Rodgers’ side hade to play over an hour a man down.

McGregor was at the heart of Celtic’s midfield that game even though Daizen Maeda stole the show.

But the Celtic captain’s absence was certainly felt by the team and the fans will be hoping that McGregor will back in the green and white hoops sooner rather than later.

Brendan Rodgers Reveals Tunnel Chat With Referee Don Robertson

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that he had a chat with referee Don Robertson following the Hoops’ 2-0 defeat to Hearts on Sunday.

Decisions that were made by those on VAR and the man in the middle undoubtedly cost the Celts at Tynecastle. Rodgers rightly called out the incompetency of the officials after the game.

Yang was sent off early on. Celtic going down to ten significantly impacted the game, as did the decision to award the Jambos a penalty for a dubious Tomoki Iwata handball.

Had the correct calls been made, the champions might have been currently sitting top of the table. John Beaton and Co. cost Celtic, but the manager admitted that trying to talk to the officials is pointless.

Indeed, Rodgers tried to speak to Robertson post-match: “I spoke to him (Don Robertson) in the tunnel just briefly, but it’s a waste of time if I’m honest”, he said (The Celtic Way).

“There is no change and I also think as well that VAR is not the problem here. That’s clear. It’s incompetence.”

Had Adam Idah scored his early spot-kick, Rodgers currently wouldn’t be worrying about VAR and refereeing officials, but there are no excuses for their sub-par decision-making.

It put Celtic at a massive disadvantage, but the team cannot dwell on it and only look forward to two crucial home matches against Livingston and St. Johnstone over the next fortnight.

The club, though, can. It is now up to the hierarchy to call out the incompetency and stand up for the supporters.

Report details the transfer constraints that Mark Lawwell was working under at Celtic

Mark Lawwell left his role as Head of Recruitment at Celtic on Friday afternoon. The Scottish Champions confirmed that the former City Group operative had resigned along with his No.2 Joe Dudgeon, Lead First Team Scout, with the pairing being placed on gardening leave.

As the news settles, more information is coming out about Lawwell’s brief while in charge of recruitment at Celtic and it would certainly tie in with the type of signings that the club have made. In the Daily Mail print edition on Saturday, Stephen McGowan claims that Lawwell was in charge of identifying players based upon the following remit: between 19 and 23, have international experience and meet certain financial constraints.

The club have certainly been operating within these brackets but may benefit from looking slightly outwith the confines to deliver the desired quality that can take the team to the next level.

Since arriving in 2022, Celtic have signed: Benjamin Siegrist, Alexandro Bernabei, Aaron Mooy, Moritz Jenz, Sead Haksabanovic, Oliver Abildgaard, Yuki Kobayashi, Alistair Johnston, Tomoki Iwata, Oh, Odin Thiago Holm, Marco Tilio, Yang, Kwon, Maik Nawrocki, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Luis Palma, Nat Phillips, Paulo Bernardo, Nicolas Kuhn and Adam Idah.

The club would benefit from reshaping the recruitment wing in order to continue in the hunt for quality. With Lawwell leaving, hopefully plans have already been put in place ahead of the summer window but given the planning ahead of January, that doesn’t necessarily guarantee anything.

Despite the transfer window ending, Celtic are nearing the sale of Liel Abada to FC Charlotte in the MLS. The Israeli winger is set to depart in a deal worth £11m

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