Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton has taken aim at his old club over their poor handling for the summer transfer window on the back of Tuesday night's Champions League exit.
The Bhoys took a 3-0 lead into their second leg with LASK in Austria and even made it 4-0 through Callum McGregor on the night, but they ended up conceding the next five goals over normal and extra time, crashing out of the Champions League and into the Europa League.
It was a shocking collapse from Celtic, but one that was not just a product of the performances on the pitch. Celtic have made just four new signings this summer, leaving Martin O'Neill with no senior goalkeeper backup, no senior left-back backup and only one available holding midfielder for the Champions League qualifiers, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain having been suspended for both games.
Daizen Maeda was sold but replaced, but Arne Engels, who was arguably the team's most important player, was sold for £22million and still hasn't been replaced. The Bhoys knew all summer, and for much of last season, that Engels would be sold, but they were not proactive in replacing him,
It seems as though the club wanted to qualify for the Champions League before spending the money, but that gamble did not pay off. The lack of midfield cost Celtic dearly in the second leg, and why the club did not at least sign a cheaper replacement and wait for a more expensive signing if qualification was secured is beggars belief.
Sutton goes in on Celtic board
Writing on X after the game, Sutton said: "Fail to prepare, prepare to fail…"
He added: "People can say what they like about the collapse and I respect that but why sell your legs in midfield and weaken your team when the biggest games of the season are around the corner. Why sell Maeda? It’s just stupid… the justification is in the winning… Celtic lost…"
That's just it. The Celtic board gambled by waiting to make more signings until after the qualifiers, despite having had more than two months to make signings to ensure they were ready for these fixtures.
It was clear that a lack of depth cost Celtic. For all of the poor performances, Martin O'Neill's substitutes let him down, and his midfield was torched, with no natural pivot playing alongside Callum McGregor.
This board thought they had gotten away with it after a strong start to the season. They were wrong.
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