IT may have taken a fair while longer than it should have done, but with Neil Lennon eventually stepping down from his second spell as Celtic manager it is time for the club to start thinking ahead and planning how to reclaim their place at the top of the Scottish football tree.
 
It’s going to take a huge effort from everyone at the club for Celtic to fully emerge from the slump they have been in this season, but after Lennon’s departure they will need to act quickly to put in place the building blocks for that rehabilitation.
 
Sevco have been lauded throughout this campaign and rightly so as they have been consistent both domestically and in Europe. It’s worth remembering however that it has only been one season. Celtic have been dominant for a very long time now, and it was just a few months ago that they wrapped up a quadruple treble, claiming every one of the last 12 domestic trophies available to them.
 
There is no doubt they have work to do to get back on top but Sevco haven’t suddenly turned into world beaters in the same way that Celtic haven’t just become also-rans. Events of the last 12 months have presented difficulties that no-one could have ever foreseen and of the two clubs, Celtic have undoubtedly found it harder to adapt than their Glasgow rivals.
 
The first step on the road to recovery will be the appointment of a new manager, and for me there should be a complete change in direction from what has gone before.
 
Recruiting Ronny Deila a few years ago was very much a left-field appointment but it was one which I applauded at the time as it showed that the board were not just thinking along the same old predictable lines of bringing in an ex-Celt.

I’m certainly not advocating that the board go out looking for a complete unknown just to surprise us all, however.
 
Deila was relatively successful in his three years at the club but he did fall a bit short of the level that was required. That said, when he left, he went with the good wishes of the Celtic support and remains a popular figure. At the moment, the same can’t be said of Neil Lennon, although that stance will probably soften with the passing of time.
 
John Kennedy is currently the bookies’ favourite to get the job but that basic fact doesn’t tell the whole story. I don’t believe for one second that anyone considers him to be the man to lead Celtic forward in the long term. However, for betting purposes the new manager, even an interim manager, only needs to be in the post for 10 games.
 
Kennedy may satisfy that criteria if he stays until the end of the season and the team play in at least two rounds of the Scottish Cup.
 
Completion of the Cup this year is uncertain due to the pandemic but there is a chance that it will get back underway at some point and that is why Kennedy is seen as the most likely person for the bookies to pay out on. I for one will be amazed if he is still in the job come the start of the new season, though.
 
His spell as interim manager did start well enough last weekend with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Aberdeen at Celtic Park.
 
As expected, there were few major surprises in terms of team selection, tactics or formation apart from handing Klimala a rare start. The Polish striker worked hard and linked up well but he does seem to lack the finishing quality needed to make the grade at this level.
 
Unsurprisingly it was Klimala’s strike partner, Odsonne Edouard, who scored the only goal of the game. His shot from outside the box took a massive deflection to loop over Lewis in the Aberdeen goal and into the net.
 
Aberdeen had created a few early chances but they are struggling for goals at the minute having scored just once in their last eight matches so it was no surprise that a single strike was enough for the victory.
 
Kennedy will almost certainly have his own ideas about how he wants the team to play but last Saturday will have come too close to Lennon’s departure for there to be any discernible differences on the pitch. It will be interesting to see how he and the team fare over the next few weeks when he has a bit more time with them.
 
The visit of Sevco in the Glasgow derby on March 21 will provide a stern test for him and the players as they will almost certainly have to win that game if they are to prevent their biggest rivals from clinching the league trophy on their home turf.

The destination of the title is no longer in question and indeed hasn’t been for some time now, but Celtic can still have a say on when it is won and at the same time dismantle the ‘invincible’ tag which Sevco have been wearing this season.
 
They will be worthy winners of the Scottish Premiership this year but to mention them in the same breath as the Celtic team that swept all before them in Brendan Rodgers’ first season would be a travesty.
 
For one thing, they have had an extraordinary amount of good fortune this season on many fronts. Despite being involved in a number of Covid-related breaches since the start of the pandemic, they have not had any matches postponed or lost the services of any player who would be considered a first team starter.
 
They have not had a single red card or penalty awarded against them in the current league campaign and have had more penalties and red cards against opposition players given in their favour than any other Scottish team. All of them stonewallers no doubt.
 
Rodgers’ Celtic team had to fight for every bit of success they achieved that season, they had no favours from anyone. They were just so far ahead of all the rest.
 
The momentum built up by that team has slowly been eroded over the last few seasons but there’s absolutely no reason that, with the right recruitment in the dugout and out on the pitch, that those glory days cannot be replicated. Sevco will win the title this year but it will be the first, and so far only, major trophy that they have won so they have not yet earned the right to be called anything other than one season wonders.
 
Celtic have it within themselves to ensure that this campaign will go down as nothing more than a blip in an otherwise uninterrupted period of unparalleled success. The time for feeling sorry for themselves is over, it’s time to get back on the front foot, starting with a statement victory on the 21st of this month.