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Rangers snubbed as Chris Sutton is shocked by Ally McCoist Celtic shortlist amid 'absolutely shocking' Callum McGregor debate
Chris Sutton was shocked to see Callum McGregor as one of two Celtic players on Ally McCoist’s player of the season shortlist but no Rangers men.
The former Ibrox hero simply said that no Gers player “deserved” to be in the top four, while he claimed it was “obscene” that Sutton had omitted the Hoops captain from his own.
Ahead of the Scottish Cup semi final on Sunday (30 April) the assessment from McCoist that the top four players in the league this season were McGregor, Kyogo Furuhashi, Kevin van Veen and Lawrence Shankland illustrates what a poor campaign it has been for Michael Beale’s side.
As his shortlist was revealed on BT Sport’s Scottish Football Extra on Friday night (28 April) Sutton exclaimed “Wow!” when McGregor’s name came up.
McCoist replied: “Quite simply, it’s bordering on obscene that he hasn’t got Callum McGregor on his shortlist by the way. I like [Reo] Hatate, good player. Callum McGregor has effectively run that Celtic midfield for about 24-months, and you haven’t got him on the shortlist for player of the year. That is an absolutely shocking decision.”
On his rejection of any Ibrox options he added: “The one thing I give you on this programme is honesty Chris, and a bit of knowledge. You should try it some Fridays.
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“At this moment in time there’s no Rangers player [who] deserves to be in the top four.”
Dismal
It is a measure of how this season has gone that with the Light Blues languishing in second 13 points from the top there is not one player in the squad that could get the nod for the SPFL player of the year.
But it is a fair assessment when the title race has been over since before World Cup, and the biggest games since Beale replaced Giovanni van Bronckhorst have, one way or another, not been won.
The manager has a chance to put a small amount of that right at Hampden at the weekend but it will only be a consolation to defend the cup at this point.
That is essentially what it was last year, with the run to the Europa League final glossing over domestic matters, but with the European campaign an historic nightmare this year there is no respite.
Right now Beale would love a figure to rival McGregor in his midfield, and while he has added Nico Raskin and Todd Cantwell in that area both have a long way to go yet.
After the wheels fell off early in the campaign it was always going to be a work in progress for Beale, but no wins from three in Old Firm derbies is a concern heading into the next one, and with all sorts of movement behind the scenes there is anything but stability right now heading into a crucial transfer window.
In other Rangers news, the club are set to make a £4.3million bid to land a player as soon as possible ahead of a rush, “certain” to be their’s if they meet the asking price.