The Athletic’s Kieran Devlin has responded to criticism regarding an article he penned on Celtic midfielder James McCarthy.

The Lowdown: McCarthy claim

The Republic of Ireland international made his first start under Ange Postecoglou in the 1-0 defeat to Livingston on the weekend. However, the 30-year-old was the second-worst starter on the pitch, as per WhoScored, and was replaced with just under 20 minutes remaining.

Devlin has since claimed that dressing room sources have informed him that the Irishman has struggled with the pace and intensity of Postecoglou’s training sessions, with the Celtic manager apparently not having a meaningful impact on his transfer this summer.

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The Latest: Devlin’s response

One supporter was quick to respond to Devlin’s story in the comment section, labelling his claims regarding McCarthy as a ‘killer’, while other readers accused the journalist of being overly harsh on the midfielder.

Devlin then replied, admitting that his claim has been ‘double sourced’, and he went on to add that he has ‘known the information for a while’.

The Verdict: Next few months key

There have been rumours that McCarthy has been struck down with Covid recently, causing him to miss 16 days.

Devlin didn’t want to speculate on that, but if that is true, then it’s easy to see why McCarthy has been struggling under Postecoglou.

Hopefully he will now only get better and stronger at Parkhead as he continues his start to life with the Hoops, so the next few months could be crucial with regards to seeing whether or not the midfielder can fit into Postecoglou’s system.

In other news: Dressing room sources: Devlin shares further Giakoumakis worry for Celtic and Ange.