Celtic put in a toothless performance in a nightmare 2-0 defeat at home against the Rangers. But it is too early to start panicking.
Let us not make any excuses, Celtic’s performance against the Rangers was shambolic. The team just did not look ready for a fight in one of the fiercest fixtures on the planet and paid the price for it.
Yes, we were missing a number of top players on the day. But that does not justify the lack of hunger shown by the Hoops today. There cannot be any justification for it. But let’s not forget that we are still very early into the season and this is not the time to panic.
We did lose the same fixture last season as well and our reaction to that defeat was ruthless. Following that defeat, we picked up 53 points from a possible 57 in the league. And let’s hope that we can show that same fight this time around as well.
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The odds were always stacked against us today. No fans in the stands for the derby and a large number of players ruled out. No disrespect to any of the Bhoys, but this was not our strongest starting XI by any stretch of the imagination. Funny that word – imagination. Exactly what we lacked on the day.
The biggest concern should not be the result but our performance. None of the players seemed interested in winning and even at 2-0 down, we continued to pass the ball at the back without any urgency to score.
There is no doubt that questions will be raised about Neil Lennon once again. While on the day he might not have had too many choices, it is undeniable that he has failed to get the best out of Celtic in this fixture. To be brutally honest, this was the third straight time that the Hoops where outplayed by Steven Gerrard’s side and they do not seem to be making any adjustments.
So, overall, a terrible day. But hopefully one that we can put behind us as soon as possible.