Butcher: Soft centre makes Celts vulnerable

TERRY BUTCHER views Celtic’s central defence as an error-prone weak spot that should be targeted by their title rivals. The former Rangers and England captain insists the Parkhead side have lacked authority at the back ever since Virgil van Dijk departed in 2015. Butcher argues the mistakes made by Dedryck Boyata and others in last month’s 1-0 loss at Ibrox should have led to a heavier defeat — and that manager Brendan Rodgers must find a solution if they are to maintain their Premiership dominance. ‘They showed in the Old Firm game they have got a mistake in them,’ said Butcher of Celtic’s back line. ‘Rangers didn’t quite punish all the mistakes. That was down to Craig Gordon, who had

an excellent game. They have to sort that out. But how long have we been talking about Celtic centre-halves? Since Van Dijk left, really, Celtic haven’t had a strong centre-half who is fierce and competitive and who is going to lead the back four. ‘You look at them and think: “He’s got a fault in him and he’s got a fault in him”. If I was a manager and my team was playing Celtic, that would be an area I would try to target. ‘They talk about (Mikael) Lustig at right-back and say they need this and they need that. ‘They aren’t mortally wounded after the Rangers game but they will certainly be more worried at the back about making mistakes and being forced into mistakes. ‘It wasn’t so much Rangers cutting them open with great passes. Celtic gave the ball away in midfield and especially at the back.’ Celtic have still conceded the fewest goals in the top flight but Butcher, capped 77 times by England at centre-back, predicts they will be placed under increased pressure when the league resumes after this weekend’s Scottish Cup fixtures. Rangers are level on points with their derby foes, having played a game more, while Kilmarnock and Aberdeen are within three points of the top.

‘It is probably the biggest test Celtic have had in the Premiership since Brendan became manager,’ said Butcher. ‘You need your back four to come up trumps now and do their job more than ever because they are under pressure — and they haven’t been used to being under pressure.’

RANGERS have edged closer to agreeing a deal to take Dundee midfielder Glen Kamara to Ibrox in the January window. The Finnish midfielder signed a pre-contract deal earlier this month but Rangers are negotiating with Dundee in a bid to prise the player away now.