In my Celtic days it was Neil Lennon.
Subsequently, it was the likes of Scott Brown and Victor Wanyama who did the job.
It takes different pieces to fit a puzzle and, for all Celtic’s attacking quality, Ange Postecoglou will be aware you need balance.
And I’m convinced the Hoops could do with getting an enforcer in the door.
Not just for stepping up the levels to enter the heights of the Champions League group stages but to help on the home front, too.
It was pretty difficult to pick holes in the way Celtic went about their business last season. There were so many good aspects, so many exciting sights.
However, if there was one thing that I wondered about, it was physicality. I felt that, in certain circumstances, it would have helped them.
Postecoglou wants to play a certain way and I think we all admire that.
Get on the front foot and play the game you want. Don’t take a backward step.
However, there are times in games when you don’t intend to take a backward step, it just happens.
You get pushed back and you need people to hold firm.
Celtic ’s attacking style leaves their centre-backs exposed.
Most of the time, you can cope with that but not in Europe. In the Europa League, Postecoglou’s team were picked off time and again in the groups and lost five over two legs to Bodo/Glimt in the Conference League.
There were times when it seemed Callum McGregor, as well as trying to make passes and keep the game ticking in one direction, was having to try and cover in front of his central backline by himself as waves crashed against him in the other.
Nir Bitton has now gone and, when I think of Celtic going into the group stages of the Champions League, they are going to need someone to help hold the fort in the middle of the park.
Given the way Postecoglou wants the game to be played, that’s a challenge for him and his recruitment staff.
The Aussie isn’t just going to want a bruiser in there who just kicks people, makes tackles, covers runners but can’t pass the ball.
He’ll want someone who can play as well as do the ugly side to a high level and, in the modern game, prices for these fellas can range up to around £50million.
Finding that diamond in the rough, as they did with Wanyama, is the task. I see Brazilian Vinicius Souza is one name mentioned for the role, so it seems they are looking.
I feel it’s a must. Bitton did an admirable job playing that position and there is no-one else like him in there with his stature and presence.
Ismaila Soro isn’t the answer and you wonder if Yosuke Ideguchi might be able to.
He’s not yet had a chance to flourish and, although he’s not the same as Bitton physically, neither was Lennon or Brown and they still managed to scavenge around putting out fires and dealing with danger to protect their centre-halves.
Nonetheless, whether it is to anchor alongside McGregor and push him one up, Celtic need to source one because the rest of the midfielders are the same, if not in shape or size, but in style.
David Turnbull, Matt O’Riley, Reo Hatate. All look to create, get on the ball and make passes. Be offensive and make things happen.
In actual fact, they might need a couple in there because you can not rely on McGregor to play over 60 games every single season surely.
The captain is so important. Not only is he a leader of the group but he’s a wonderfully-gifted footballer into the bargain.
McGregor oozes class and, when he is at his best, which is almost every week, he links the entire team. Knits it all together middle to front.
If that’s not working, he takes the bull by the horns and makes it happen on his own.
But when he’s not there, it’s a major problem. We saw that at the start of last season when he had an injury. Celtic were better equipped to cope after the break when he suffered his facial issue but it was still imperative to get him back.
I don’t know if the other boys at the club could do the job he does, although it’s possible.
Hatate, for example, looked full of legs, zest and talent when he signed. Fatigue seemed to hit him in the latter weeks of the season and he didn’t have it, but it might be that Postecoglou signed him because he’s got the potential to do what McGregor does. Remember, he’s only 24.
O’Riley is another who, despite being creative, played the holding role for MK Dons and did it well by all accounts.
He has physical stature and might be an answer on days when McGregor is missing. Sadly for Celtic, those days will come around at some point next term. It’s the same for everyone.
Postecoglou is a smart manager. I’m not saying anything he won’t know himself and it will be interesting to see how he approaches it.
Being aggressive and full of intent is one thing. Being gung-ho and leaving yourself wide open against the elite of the game is quite another.
You can still be attacking and positive even with that insurance policy of a midfield enforcer. It’s about getting the right one.
That’ll be down to the skills of the boss and the recruitment staff in the market.
Their track record in the past year tells you they’ll probably find the answer.
