After the last two performances no one can be in any doubt that this Celtic side won’t reach the group stage of next seasons Champions League- retaining the Premiership title is now in question.
The entire structure of the club is geared towards playing in UEFA’s premier event, a third season without the finance and prestige will push the club further into a very dangerous downward spiral.
Ronny Deila has had some restrictions to operate under but over the last two matches the well of goodwill and understanding towards him has dried up. It was already in doubt after the European ‘campaign’.
Better Celtic side’s than the current one have suffered back-to-back domestic defeats- very few have gone down as meekly or looked dead and buried the moment they go behind. When this side goes in front they look vulnerable, when they go behind it seems to be game over.
There has been brief bursts of promise and excitement over the last 18 months but by and large it has been a painful time for supporters, hoping against reality that the team they have been promised may emerge.
Alas it hasn’t, players haven’t been developed, youth hasn’t flourished and it’s time for change. It’s not going to get any better, we knew it under Tony Mowbray and John Barnes.
Deila has avoided the catastrophic defeats that finished off two of his predecessors- just. Six matches without a win in the Europa League was tough to accept on the back of losing out on a Champions League place to Malmo.
If Jackson Irvine had put Ross County 4-1 up at Hampden that result may have landed, if Aberdeen had gone 3-0 up in the second half last night the evidence would be clear cut.
Despite a three point lead in the Premiership and likely place in the last eight of the Scottish Cup the Celtic support won’t be duped.
There is a cluster of players capable of turning things around and securing the title but a dozen names could be wiped off the payroll and not be missed.
As Ebbe Skovdahl once memorably said statistics are like mini skirts with the detail behind Deila’s stats painting a bleaker picture.
Just three league defeats and draws away to Ajax and Fenerbahce don’t begin to tell the story- try telling that to the supporters that took time off work to go to Aberdeen returning home at 1am or later with a full shift ahead of them.
While thousands drift away from Celtic Park due to the boredom on the pitch and indifference in the boardroom the club still means so much to so many people.
Supporters don’t expect or demand multi million pound transfers and reaching the knock out stages of the Champions League, the requirements are a bit more basic than that.
A team that cares, that battles and gives their all on the park matched by a management team and boardroom with similar ambitions would be a nice starting point.
Six months into the season highlights have been few and far between. Deila’s comments last night about fighting back and calling on the fans to back him seemed hollow.
There are no guarantees about the remaining league matches, the entire club is weak with Deila not the man to rally around.
Whoever takes over from the Norwegian, on a permanent or caretaker basis, has a huge but not impossible task. Holding off an Aberdeen side that has lost to Hearts and Hibs in the domestic cups is an easier challenge that Martin O’Neill and Neil Lennon inherited.
An astute board would have a number of candidates in mind to step in. The Scottish Cup tie with East Kilbride and a free midweek provides a small window for change.
If Deila is still in charge when Ross County visit Celtic Park next Saturday things could get very tense, the right new face will bring freshness to the dressing room and hope to the supporters.
Before the split Celtic have away matches are at Hamilton, Motherwell, Partick Thistle and Kilmarnock which isn’t the most demanding run.
The bulk of the Celtic support has given up on the Deila project, the longer it continues more of the focus will turn to the boardroom. If decisive action isn’t taken things will only get worse, much much worse with grand development plans and the warmth of Champions League nights replaced by the brutal chill of discontent and despair.
