Davie Provan has warned Dom McKay that he’ll have to get the cheque-book out if Celtic are to make a serious fist of this season.
After failing to win any of his first three matches Ange Postecoglou has turned things around with the emphasis very much on an attacking brand of football.
Against Dundee and St Mirren the hoops have been sublime but with a Glasgow derby quickly followed by matches against opponents from La Liga and the Bundesliga the Celtic defence will be fully tested.
Provan watched the midweek ‘thriller’ in Alkmaar and gave a typically blunt summary in The Sun:
Trust me, no amount of coaching is going to fix Celtic’s current defensive problems. Unless Dominic McKay gets some proper defenders in before the window closes, Hoops supporters will be munching Valium watching this team.
How did Peter Lawwell allow this squad to get so thin? Shouldn’t directors have sorted a centre-back before selling Kristoffer Ajer?
Unlike his board, Postecoglou is doing a good job. Fans are lapping up his brand of football even if it’s a white-knuckle ride.
But the honeymoon comes to an end at Ibrox. This is the moment of truth for this new Celts side. I’m not wearing the idea Postecoglou’s team can open up in every game. His game plan should depend on the quality of the opposition. He can’t leave this back four exposed to good players.
Within an hour of selling Kris Ajer to Brentford Celtic announced the arrival of Carl Starfelt, last Saturday the transfer of Josip Juranovic from Legia Warsaw was completed.
Any injury to Starfelt or Stephen Welsh tomorrow is likely to result in Nir Bitton being pushed back into defence, already this year the Israeli midfielder has shown that he is a liability in that position.
