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Why Maribor was more than a defeat

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Peter LawwellGetting knocked out of Europe is an annual event for Celtic fans but the circumstances of Tuesday’s Champions League exit from Maribor has prompted unseen levels of criticism of all areas of the club.

Regardless of who the club is matched with in today’s Europa League draw a substantial number of supporters will be watching the matches on television such is the levels of discontent.

Two main areas are causing concern- the boardroom and the dug-out.

In the boardroom there is suspicion that the ambitions of the fans isn’t matched by the directors, in the dug-out there are fears that Ronny Deila hasn’t grasped the size of the job and the need to manage the current squad as he attempts to evolve the team into his way of thinking.

Overlapping both areas is the lack of signings with the preference for loan deals causing alarm.

When Peter Lawwell addresses the media today he will be viewed by suspicion by the majority of supporters- especially with the views of Johan Mjallby confirming their worst fears.

The root of the issue is why is the team, or product on the park, is so poor on the back of the two most successful seasons trading in the club’s history.

The benefits of two Champions League campaigns that have banked £30m plus to match the transfer fees for Victor Wanyama, Gary Hooper and Fraser Forster are difficult to see.

Would anyone try to argue that the 2014 team is stronger than the 2012 version?

Football is without doubt a fickle business where random unexpected events can impact even the best of clubs but with a sound business plan why are Celtic looking lost and being easily beaten by Legia Warsaw and Maribor?

While Lawwell attempts to reassure today Deila faces his audience on Sunday showing many of the worrying traits that saw John Barnes and Tony Mowbray fail to complete a season at Celtic Park.

Mowbray showed complete contempt for the players he inherited while Barnes’ belief in a magical system of playing ran contrary to the talents of the squad he had.

Both men were well backed in the transfer market with their signature signings, Marco Fortune and Eyal Berkavic signed before a competitive ball was kicked. Deila hasn’t had that luxury.

Tuesday night’s defeat from Maribor, and the manner of the performance, packaged all those concerns into 90 minutes that will be difficult for supporters to overcome.

The departure of Virgil van Dijk wouldn’t be the greatest of surprises, if he is joined by Kris Commons on the road south discontent could turn into open hostility.

Celtic fans will monitor the coming days with trepidation, the well of goodwill is virtually dry.

The club will almost always be given the benefit of the doubt even by the most sceptical of supporters, it’s part of supporter DNA.

This weekend the bonds between fans and the club are stretched like never before over the last twenty years. The backing of the fans can’t be questioned, can the club match their commitment by producing a team to match their rhetoric?

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