John Hartson believes that Celtic will continue to turn on displays like Sunday’s draw at Hibs while the managerial situation remains in limbo.
Neil Lennon has discussed his dilemma as caretaker boss, tasked with securing two trophies with the players that he inherited while he is auditioning for the job on a weekly basis.
A substantial number of Celtic fans have commented that they expect a ‘wow Rodgers type’ announcement regarding the manager’s job with the feeling growing on the back of successive goal-less draws in the SPFL.
Hartson has backed his old team-mate as the man to take Celtic forward on a permanent basis but that hasn’t clouded his judgement of recent performances.
He told the Evening Times:
Make no mistake, I think there is a big rebuilding job to do at Celtic this summer, with an injection of fresh blood sorely needed.
There are many players who will move on, the likes of Dedryck Boyata, Jeremy Toljan, Filip Benkovic, Timothy Weah, Oliver Burke could all be away along with a few others, so it would be better for Celtic to have some clarity about who is going to be doing that job.
It all reminds me a bit of last summer, when the Celtic support were sitting back and waiting for big names to arrive at the club and then none materialised. That uncertainty around the club, and how Brendan Rodgers was unhappy with the board, seeped its way into the players and onto the pitch.
I think the limbo the club is currently in is seeping onto the pitch again, and that is why we are seeing more and more of these laboured performances.
I still fully expect Celtic to deliver that treble Treble, but while that should be a historic occasion worthy of massive celebration, the longer this uncertainty clouds the club, the more I fear it will be greeted with a whimper rather than the bang it deserves.
On Saturday Celtic face a depleted Kilmarnock side looking to collect three of the four points needed to ensure an eighth successive championship.
Steve Clarke is likely to be without Kirk Broadfoot and Rory McKenzie despite promising to put in appeals against their red cards against Aberdeen. Former Celt Stewart Findlay will definitely miss the match through suspension.
Clubs are watching for players at younger and younger ages, very difficult to deal with but I don't think that moving to Germany at 16 is for many Scottish players.https://t.co/ncPZRka4HB
— Joe McHugh (@videocelts) April 23, 2019
