Chris Sutton fears that Celtic could he heading into an autumn of discontent.
A look at the fixture list until Halloeen reveals a visit from Bayer Leverkusen followed by away days at Aberdeen, Motherwell and Hibs for a side that has lost all three away matches in the SPFL this season.
At any stage of the season that would be a demanding run, with Ferencvaros also returning to Glasgow but with the core of his side missing out on at least some of those matches the odds on navigating through that run successfully increase dramatically.
Celtic’s injury list appears to be never ending. The return of James Forrest is in doubt, Mikey Johnston lasted 20 minutes at Livingston before returning to the sidelines with Giorgos Giakoumakis failing to get through the warm up against Raith Rovers.
Reflecting on the injuries and upcoming fixtures in his Daily Record column, Sutton explains:
The next few weeks could be a nightmare if he doesn’t get some bodies back. It’ll be hard enough against a decent Dundee United side at Celtic Park tomorrow, but I’ll looking down the line at Bayer Leverkusen next week and it’s impossible not to have concerns.
The Germans are a proper team and they could inflict some damage if they click in to gear. There are hazardous trips to Aberdeen and Motherwell on the horizon where all the talk will be about Celtic’s woeful away record. So I’m not surprised Postecoglou is looking like a man who’s lost a tenner and found a fiver.
Beating Dundee United and Aberdeen are the immediate targets for Postecoglou, with nine points lost in just three matches anything less than two wins before the October international break will rank up the pressure regardless of the lengthy injury list.
