IN less than a week's time Celtic could be restored back to the top of Scottish football should they manage to close the gap between themselves and league leaders Hearts.
The Hoops now trail league leaders Hearts by just the three points but have a game in hand on the Edinburgh table-toppers as they travel to Fir Park tonight (Tuesday) to face high-flying Motherwell. They then welcome arch-rivals Rangers to Parkhead for the Saturday lunchtime kick-off in the first Glasgow derby of the new calendar year.
Wilfried Nancy's swashbuckling Celtic look to be a real offensive threat for the first time in months after they struck seven goals in their last two games, with their trip to Livingston proving to be a goal-fest in West Lothian. The Hoops managed to trail twice inside eight minutes but ended the half 4-2 to the good after Benjamin Nygren claimed a brace and Arne Engels and Yang chipped in.
The club's defensive woes continue to prove troubling and if it not for the necessity at present of square pegs in round holes you'd feel that Nancy would be under a bit more scrutiny when it comes to being so open at the back.
But, as the Frenchman took over a squad with very little resemblance to the squad who were seconds away from making history in Germany back in February, it really is harsh to nitpick given the back-to-back victories which have earned Nancy this breathing space.
As January fast approaches, Celtic need to have their finger on the pulse. They know the key areas which are lacking. Anyone with a pair of eyes can see Anthony Ralston would be lucky to get a game for Andytown Celtic let alone the Scottish champions, but surely the men in positions to make the change will have their targets lined up like dominoes ready to fall in line come January the first. Surely, I mean surely, that must be the case given the transfer market debacle that was the summer.
Celtic supporters were left bereft and disappointed following the laughably amateurish scenes which took place before the September deadline came and went, with Celtic selling key assets without replacing them. Believe it or not, there is a theme with this.
Let's travel back to January 2023 when Celtic's last truly impactful signing was made. Celtic were on the money when they signed Alistair Johnston from Montreal CF, with the full back having developed into a cult hero to the Canada fans at the Qatar World Cup just weeks prior to his move to Glasgow's east end.
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Croatian full back Josip Juranovic had also just competed in the same World Cup, but a semi-final appearance for Croatia saw the Croat want to move on to bigger and better things and he joined Union Berlin in the Bundesliga.
The arrival of Johnston signalled the end of Juranovic's spell at Celtic but it was the last case of replacing quality with quality that Celtic have achieved.
That same window Giorgios Giakoumakis left Celtic due to a lack of game time and was sorely missed. But the eventual treble winners saw this glossed over as the arrival of Oh Hyeon-Gyu looked to be that replacement – a guy who would be punted less than 18 months later after falling to third choice behind an ageing Kyogo and a loanee in the form of Adam Idah.
So Ange departed with a treble in hand and left the Hoops with a really strong squad in the safe hands of Brendan Rodgers, who returned to Paradise to take up where he left off.
Rodgers is far from the perfect manager when it comes to recruitment, but it was under his leadership that the Celtic board's asset-stripping truly began.
July 2023 saw Jota depart for £25 million to Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad, and who could blame a guy being offered almost £200,000 a week tax-free? But, with that lovely transfer fee swelling a £70 million cash reserve pot, surely the board would back their new man and build on an already strong squad.
A Champions League campaign saw the Celtic board spend £26 million on 12 players, with Maik Nawrocki, Luis Palma, Odin Holm and Gustaf Lagerbielke the top five most expensive – all of them now gone or out on loan. Nicolas Kuhn was the only signing to have any real impact, even then it took him until the following season to make his mark.
Celtic recorded an almost £20 million profit from player trading alone, not accounting for Champions League money. That's a heck of a lot of Cheddar for any mouse.
No-one expects Celtic to be regularly splashing £10m to £20m fees, but to continually come out of each window in heavy profit while failing to replace like with like – or even close to like – has been unforgivable.
Adam Idah was the on-loan success that the fans demanded the board sign to give the Hoops a much-needed lift on the attacking front, and he did a remarkable job during his loan spell, which saw Celtic clinch another domestic double. Unfortunately, once he was officially on the books things started to take a turn for the worse. The same could be said for Paulo Bernardo, another loanee made permanent. He helped the club maintain their domestic dominance, but has plummeted down the pecking order and is now limited to an occasional appearance as sub. Matt O'Riley's breakout campaign saw him sold for a record breaking fee to Brighton and the alarm bells were ringing.
All summer long Hoops fans waited for the Rodgers renaissance in the hope that Celtic would build on the previous season when Rodgers managed to navigate a tricky Christmas period and turn the title race on its head when the momentum looked to be going towards city rivals Rangers.
Rodgers' second summer in his second spell saw Arne Engels, Adam Idah, Bernardo and Auston Trusty as the new shiny toys, but even so, Celtic managed somehow to maintain that trading profit.
The questions remain, where is all this profit going? And what is the breaking point for fans when in the five windows since Ange's departure there has only been one signing which has been looked upon with fondness – the re-signing of Jota.
The failure of Celtic's recruitment is a corporate failure, but attention turns in particular to Paul Tisdale, the head of football operations at the club, ahead of one of the most important windows in the club's recent history.
I really don't mind seeing the board lord it up and enjoy their heated driveways, but let them do so with results on the football pitch and a squad that fans – who are paying record-breaking prices to watch Celtic – can watch with genuine joy.
Wilfried Nancy will get his first taste of the Glasgow derby 
Fans don't want to be laughed at for dreaming they can compete in Europe, especially when so many sides of Celtic's general level have proven that with the correct finance and recruitment strategy it is possible.
The difference in 10 months of football is frightening, from the dizzying heights of Champions League knock-out stages to potentially failing to achieve that same sentiment at the tier below, it all falls in place as a result of slow decline at Parkhead.
It's clear that the Celtic board are as interested in the football as I am in watching Bridget Jones' Diary, but nonetheless their continued prioritisation of the bottom line over onfield quality is turning an already frosty relationship with the fans into ice. It has to stop.
What's needed are accountability, a clear strategy which everyone can be on board with, and an understanding that financial responsibility and transfer market ambition can and should go hand-in-hand.
Celtic Football Club currently sit in the black to the tune of around £100m, but where is the limit? At what point does the board understand that all that cash is meaningless if the price of earning it is a betrayal of the fans?
Fans turn out every week in droves to watch a successful football team. Business is business, but I've never seen a £50 note strike a worldie from 25 yards or dominate a back line. The board must be continually reminded that, yes, sport is a business – but that business is entertainment and joy. Everything else flows from that.
As we head into 2026, the biscuit tins and chocolates are gone and we're looking to get back into shape. So it must be with Celtic. Shed the excess weight, cut out the damaging habits that have developed and get back to doing what Celtic always does.
Every Celtic fan wants the same thing right now: results on the park and a team to be proud of.
