Pundit points out real reason behind Celtic’s defeat

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - JANUARY 02: Nir Bitton of Celtic remonstrates with Referee, Bobby Madden after being shown a red card during the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership match between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox Stadium on January 02, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. The match will be played without fans, behind closed doors as a Covid-19 precaution. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - JANUARY 02: Nir Bitton of Celtic remonstrates with Referee, Bobby Madden after being shown a red card during the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership match between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox Stadium on January 02, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. The match will be played without fans, behind closed doors as a Covid-19 precaution. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Michael Stewart has pointed out the real reason behind Celtic’s defeat at Ibrox today and it is safe to say he has hit the nail on the head.

A lot has already been written and will continue to be written about Celtic’s 1-0 defeat today against the Rangers at Ibrox.

The Hoops would have known coming into the game that they needed a win to keep the title race going. It was a story of missed chances, a red card and an own goal though. And their chances of 10IAR might just have evaporated completely with this latest defeat.

This leaves them an incredible 19 points behind the Rangers in the Premiership table. And although they do have three games in hand, it probably does not matter anymore. Unless Steven Gerrard’s side collapse completely in the second half of the season, this title race is done and dusted.

Heartbreakingly, it came on a day when Celtic were clearly the better side and deserved all three points. Instead they go home empty-handed. And Michael Stewart has hit the nail on the head when it comes to the reason behind their defeat:

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This is exactly what is wrong with the club at the moment. Yes, they were unlucky to lose Christopher Jullien just days before the game. But then, it speaks volumes about their recruitment policy when Nir Bitton starts ahead of the big summer signing Shane Duffy.

Unfortunately, this is not a one-off situation and has been happening far too happen in recent years. Just take a look at some of the players who arrived in the previous transfer window. Albian Ajeti. Vasilis Barkas. Shane Duffy. All massive flops.

You can blame Neil Lennon all you want but he was not at fault for today’s defeat. He still should be sacked though. But will the board take that decision? Most probably not considering the fact that the Hoops did win six straight coming into the game. In reality, that step should have been taken months ago.