Why Celtic cannot afford to think this season is over

Many Celtic fans and maybe some of the players might wish someone could end this nightmare of a season soon. Put it behind us all and move on. But the remainder is too critical to the future to skip past, however that might feel.

Who wants to see more matches like Saturday’s dismal performance where the Hoops toiled to grab a point at home against a strong Livingstone side? Who wants to see the current turmoil over players, performances, management, executive leadership continue unabated as the club seems to lurch from one disaster to another?

It’s a mix of poor decisions, like the Dubai farce or lack of decisions – like Neil Lennon remaining manager despite a series of bad performances or potential signings being missed and heading elsewhere.

The feeling that it would be great to bring all that to an end quickly and suddenly lies in decisive action now. If Celtic can introduce a series of changes now, in January, not June or later, then there may be a positive way out of this shambles. For Lennon, the season should be over now. As the Glasgow Evening Times are reporting, even the likes of John Hartson are now calling for him to go.

A new manager able to influence the January transfer window, even if only to a small extent. A new manager to work with players in the remaining matches and build a structure, formation and perhaps bring through one or two younger players. With several loan players in the squad and others likely to be off, there is a massive rebuilding task needed. Let’s get that started.

But in amongst all that, Celtic have to get back to winning ways. The team need to continue building confidence. Second place in the league needs to be secured for some remaining pride and for European football options. How the team perform will make a difference for potential signings.

Getting some players to accept the SPFL as a home for their talent is always a challenge. On top of that, Celtic’s image is seriously tarnished of late and it’ll be even harder persuading new signings. A strong run to the end of the season will help restore that to some extent.

And finally, we’d all want a strong Hoops team and performance going into the last 2 matches against the Rangers. That would send the signal that next season won’t be a walkover because this one has been to be honest. Keeping the pressure on, especially where the Rangers drop points as they did against Motherwell may not change the title positions, but it will help along the way to see how they react or crumble.

The rest of the season remains critical, the Hoops can’t just drift to a summer rebuild. Matches matter, wins count. The team, the management and the executive structures can all change in that period and urgently need to.