Luke McCowan not suited to start in Celtic’s bigger games | OneFootball

It’s glaringly obvious to the Celtic support that Luke McCowan isn’t suited to start in our big games, so why does he continue to get selected?

Luke McCowan of Celtic arrives prior to the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Falkirk at Celtic Park on August 29, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Luke McCowan is in the firing line once again due to a lacklustre and wasteful display in his 45 minute appearance in the 1-0 loss to the Rangers at Celtic Park. During that first 45 minutes the former Dundee captain continually gave the ball away with misplaced passes or was caught in possession, much to the frustration of the 60,000 Celtic supporters watching from the stands.

Last month McCowan was unfairly singled out for his part in the 5-1 capitulation in Linz, and yet again his shortcomings were exposed in the latest Glasgow Derby defeat.

Cameron Carter-Vickers of Celtic and Luke McCowan of Celtic. LASK v Celtic, UEFA Champions League, Play Off Round, Second Leg, Football, Raiffeisen Arena, Linz, Austria – 25 Aug 2026Linz Raiffeisen Arena: Photo Michael Zemanek/Shutterstock

Like many supporters, I was dismayed when Luke’s name was read out in the starting XI, and not because I have any sort of vendetta against him. Frankly, he’s been a liability in these games as past experience more than proves.

Luke is a reliable squad player to call upon in the run-of-the-mill domestic fixtures, but in the more demanding fixtures, he seems to falter as he duly proved once again on Sunday afternoon where he put in an inept and uninspiring display in a torrid first half, and looked very much like this sort of occasion is to much for him to handle.

Attila Osvath of Ferencvaros is challenged by Luke McCowan of Celtic during the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 League Phase MD1 match between Celtic FC and Ferencvarosi TC at Celtic Park on September 17, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Luke who was handed an extension on his current deal only a short few months ago was selected to give us an extra body in a midfield that’s been badly exposed in recent weeks, but he didn’t add anything to the battle, and was it was no surprise when he was hauled off at the interval.

If anyone in the coaching staff thought that Luke could provide the physicality that has been missing since Arne Engels was sold, then they got their answer in that first half yesterday afternoon.

Luke is approaching his 29th birthday, and is a vastly experienced professional, and being a Celtic supporter, as well as being at the club for long enough to know the importance of yesterday’s fixture, it beggars belief that he looked like a rookie being thrown into the mix.

Martin O’Neill arrives at the stadium. Celtic v Rangers. Scottish Premiership. 20 September 2026. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

This isn’t the first time that the former Dundee man has went missing in this fixture, and begs the question, why does he keep getting selected for fixtures of such importance when he such a liability? Martin O’Neill said afterwards that Luke merited the start. How? What have we missed?

As a squad player and as a useful substitute, Luke can do a decent job in his time at Celtic. But he’s shown that is as much as can be realistically expect of him.

Just an Ordinary Bhoy

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