Chris Sutton slams Celtic star in Old Firm blame game as player he admires accused of 'passing the buck'
Celtic icon thought defender’s post-match comments after the Rangers defeat were ‘disgraceful’
Celtic hero Chris Sutton accused defender Cameron Carter-Vickers of ‘passing the buck’ for the comments he made in the aftermath of their 1-0 Premiership defeat to Rangers last week.
The American described his side’s tactics as ‘random’ in his post-match interview - putting further heat on manager Martin O’Neill, who is beginning to feel the full force of the Celtic Park pressure cooker after three consecutive defeats. The 74-year old gaffer is taking time during the international break to ‘reflect’ on his position.
Sutton - an iconic striker of O’Neill’s successful first spell at the club - had doubts about his former gaffer taking on the job permanently in the summer despite him steering them to the domestic double last season. Now that things aren’t running as smoothly in the East End of Glasgow, he thinks O’Neill is taking too much flack - and that the burden of responsibility must be shared between the players too.
Sutton accuses Carter-Vickers of ‘passing the buck’
He wrote in his Daily Record column: “But the players also need to take some responsibility. Unlike Cameron Carter-Vickers last weekend. I’ve been a huge admirer of his over the years and I’ve constantly sung his praises. But his comments after the Rangers defeat were disgraceful.
“Carter-Vickers spoke about the ‘random’ way of playing, the messaging and stuff about freezing on the pitch because players being unsure of where they were meant to run. It was a cop-out. Whether he meant it or not, he was passing the buck back to the manager and the coaches – and it’s not on. It was pathetic. You might feel that way in private but the place to air those thoughts is in-house rather than in public. It was a tough enough situation but Carter-Vickers just chucked petrol on the flames.”
What were Carter-Vickers’ original comments on Celtic’s performance?
Last Sunday was a chance for the Hoops to right the wrongs of their 3-0 defeat to Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup a week earlier. However, as they once again they struggled to create anything, the match turned out to be a carbon copy - the only difference being that the visitors weren’t as clinical. When asked where he though it went wrong against their rivals, Carter-Vickers was blunt in his response.
After the match, he told Sky Sports: “It’s hard to put your finger on one thing. Overall, we played a bit too random. I think that’s what we need to get back to over this international break, getting a script and sticking to it. The last two games have been pressure games and that’s when I think as players you kind of rely on having something to fall back on. At the moment, we just haven’t had the time to get that and that’s something as players we can do better in for sure, not taking away from that. It’s something we need to look at and improve on.”
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