NOW there’s a jarring wake-up call if there ever was one. On Sunday at Kilmarnock, Celtic offered up one of the most insipid and lifeless performances that we’ve seen in a number of years.
They were devoid of creativity and never looked like scoring against Derek McInnes’ side who defended resolutely and were deserving of the victory.
Killie mirrored the tactics that saw them beat Rangers on the opening day of the league season, so there were no surprises. Shockingly, though, it was simply a case of the treble winners not holding the answers on how to unlock their back line.
In Brendan Rodgers’ first tenure, he never lost a domestic cup tie, but now he’s experienced that in just his third competitive game this time around.
I understand the grievances around the plastic pitch at Rugby Park and I’ve made my position clear on that in the past. It’s a disgrace that clubs in top-flight football are using them and they should be banned, but last season the Hoops scored nine goals in two visits to the stadium.
Injuries are taking their toll as well. Alastair Johnston has been out for a while, Cameron Carter-Vickers has hurt his hamstring and in the training session after signing a new four-year deal, Stephen Welsh sustained an ankle injury that will keep him out of action for three or four months.
Reo Hatate and Oh Hyeon-gyu are also out, and to compound matters, Maik Nawrocki felt his hamstring go in the final stages of last weekend’s League Cup exit.
Aussie winger Marco Tilio arrived injured so supporters haven’t had a chance to see him even kick a ball, while James McCarthy, Mikey Johnston and Yuki Kobayashi can be added to the crocked list. Those last three, though, would be much better off the wage bill.
Celtic don’t have a divine right to win any domestic match, and, as expected, there was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction following the defeat. Much of it centred on the club’s underwhelming summer transfer window.
Readers of this column will know that I raised concerns over this two months ago.
Following the departure of the previous manager, who was always vocal in how he wanted the club to be aggressive in pursuit of new players, there was an atmosphere that things were more “relaxed”, which is a disastrous attitude to have.
A team like Celtic can never be relaxed when it comes to transfers – and I’ll explain why.
The Hoops have conquered Scotland, winning 11 of the last 12 league titles and five trebles. Not for one second am I downplaying those fantastic achievements, but the focus must be on making strides in Europe.
Rodgers stated that while the league is the bread and butter, there was a desire to become more competitive against higher-quality opposition. But unfortunately, the cold reality is that Bhoys haven’t won a European knockout tie since dumping Barcelona out of the Uefa Cup in 2004, which is astounding.
And in terms of recruitment, we’re all aware of the so-called “model” of bringing in young players for small fees, developing them for a couple of years and selling on for a healthy profit. It’s had its successes and failures, which is to be expected.
However, an alarm bell went off in my head two weeks back when I heard the manager say that he “never expected” to lose Jota or Carl Starfelt.
Celtic must be ready to lose any of their best players. Smaller clubs with much fatter bank balances are going to look at who stands out in the Champions and Europa League and will seek to poach.
The Hoops must position themselves to seamlessly replace such assets when the time comes.
Brighton have become masters of this, boasting an exceptional scouting network and a consistent stream of talent who can fill the gaps left by departing players. This is where Celtic needs to be.
Regrettably, with just over a week until the window “slams shut”, it appears that a lack of ambition has resurfaced, and the club seems content with merely participating in the Champions League, rather than actively competing.
I understand I may be jumping the gun a bit, but with £27m raked in through Jota, as well as £30m guaranteed in the group stages, a spend of £13.5m in 10 weeks doesn’t scream a club that’s determined to go to the next level.
The first XI hasn’t been strengthened and a worsening injury list is exposing a severe lack of depth in some areas of the squad.
On Saturday at home to St Johnstone (kick-off 3pm) it’s likely we’ll see a defence of Tony Ralston, Gustav Lagerbielke, Liam Scales/Tomoki Iwata and Greg Taylor, with the same back four also lining out against Rangers at Ibrox the following weekend.
At the start of June, it was plain to see that an upgrade on a goalkeeper and left-back was required. That hasn’t happened.
Jota hasn’t been replaced and more energy is needed in midfield. David Turnbull and Matt O’Riley, who I both like, aren’t the solution to this problem.
Unless the higher-ups can pull something special out of the hat then my expectations for the Champions League are as low as they can be.
Domestically, I remain confident, but if you know the history, there’s a cap on Celtic’s ambition. The next week is going to be crucial.
