Former Rangers player claims he was ‘worried’ for Celtic

Celtic did not make a good start to the season under the management of Brendan Rodgers, as it looked like they were taking some time to come to grips with the Northern Irishman’s system. Things have improved quite a bit in recent weeks though and they have put up some pretty good results, including a win over the Rangers away at Ibrox.

The only blip has been their 2-0 loss against Feyenoord away at De Kuip. For a long time, the two teams seemed well-matched and Celtic had the better of the early chances.

But then they gave away a goal on the brink of half-time which should have been kept out and then two players got sent off in the second half, ending any hopes Rodgers’ team had of making a comeback. Football at that level is about small margins and Celtic made quite a few big errors, so the loss should not come as a major surprise.

As reported by Football Insider, Alan Hutton said:

"“Let’s not kid ourselves on it is hard.“The Champions League is the top so it is always going to be difficult. I thought in the first half there was not much in it up until half time when they scored.“At certain moments, Celtic were playing out from the back and even not being a fan I was worried for them that they were going to give something away. I think they have to manage certain moments a little bit better.“We can sit here and say that the budgets are not as big but this is a Feyenoord team that won the league last season and we saw what PSV did to Rangers, it is a different level, it is a step up.“To compete with these guys, especially away from home, you have to be playing at the top of your game with your best players. Unfortunately for Celtic that did not happen but that is the level you have to get to in the Champions League.“"

Former Rangers player claims he was ‘worried’ for Celtic

It is very true that it is hard to compete in the Champions League. Even Ange Postecoglou’s side from last season, which won the domestic treble, could not win a single game in the competition despite putting in multiple impressive displays.

What Celtic struggle to do is put in a top performance throughout the 90 minutes. They have good spells here and there but also times when they end up making avoidable mistakes and pay the price, as expected against the best teams in all of Europe.

Their lack of experience was on full show up against Feyenoord with Gustaf Lagerbielke and Odin Thiago Holm being sent off. On the other hand, two of their most experienced players in Joe Hart and Kyogo were at fault for the opening goal they conceded.