Rugby Park is always a difficult place to travel to but even then, this is a result that not many Celtic fans would have seen coming. The Hoops were knocked out of the Scottish League Cup in the second round itself. There will be no treble for Brendan Rodgers this time around. And the first three games of the season have raised more questions than provided answers.
Celtic might have won their first two league games, but their performances did leave quite a bit to be desired. The display against Kilmarnock was pretty much unacceptable.
Yes, there were late calls for a penalty, which was not given. But other than that, Celtic created pretty much nothing. They had just three attempts on target, less than Kilmarnock.
One thing is pretty clear, more reinforcements are needed and they cannot come soon enough. We are just a couple of weeks into the campaign, and this team already seems to be out of ideas and tired.
Rodgers makes plea as Celtic knocked out of Cup
Rodgers appears to recognise the need for signings as well. As reported by 67 Hail Hail, he told BBC Radio Scotland after the loss to Kilmarnock:
"“Hopefully [there is transfer activity]. I think you can see we need that quality. We’ve had quality go out of the building, so we definitely need that quality in.“But the club will work very, very hard to get the players in that can improve us and make us better. That’s something we’ll do over the period of time between now and the close of the window.”"
Jota and Carl Starfelt are two nailed-on starters that Celtic have seen depart this summer. On the other hand, they have also lost three key players, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Reo Hatate to injury, while Alistair Johnston is yet to return after undergoing surgery.
None of those players have been replaced by the club in the summer transfer window. They have brought in six highly-rated youngsters. But none of them are proven or established. Those additions might work out. They might not. Celtic need to make some ready-made signings. Players who can walk straight into the team and perform from day one. Otherwise, we might be in for a long season.