Celtic are not getting things done at the moment. And Hearts will now start to believe that they can pull off a miracle. After this weekend's 2-0 defeat at the hands of Dundee FC, the Hoops now find themselves five points behind the Edinburgh side. Let that sink in for a second. If somebody had said that at the start of the season, they would be laughed at.
Of course, the players or the coaching was not good enough on the day. That being said, there are deeper problems at Celtic right now.
If those problems are not sorted quickly, it might be impossible to turn things around. The fastest some players can be signed is in January. Now, it remains to be seen how Celtic navigate things until then.
Rodgers seems to be very clear about the fact that he does not have the players that he needs to get the best out of this team. As reported by CeltsAreHere, he said on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard:
"We’ve lost a lot of firepower — a lot of goals — out of the team. There’s no way you can go into a race, be given the keys to a Honda Civic, and as you take off, be told to drive it like a Ferrari. It’s not going to happen.
“So until something changes, I have to find the solutions because, like I said, goals, speed — everything — has come out of the team, and we need to find a way to be better.
“I just said that this is where you really have to be a man. It looks great from the outside when you’re winning trophies and playing great football, but you’ve got to deal with pressure too.
“The result and performance today aren’t good enough. It’s not acceptable for Celtic. I’ve come here a number of times over the years, and that today was not the level — so we have to find it."
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Rodgers has faced a fair share of criticism lately, and for good reason. That being said, you cannot argue with that assessment.
Celtic have lost several key players in recent times. Players who were integral to the team and perhaps the best at the club at one point or another. Names like Kyogo, Matt O'Riley and Nicolas Kuhn.
All of them were allowed to leave, and for significant fees as well. That is nothing new for Celtic. But unfortunately, they were not replaced properly. Those who were brought in do not seem to have anywhere near that quality and it is easy to see why the performances have dropped so drastically over the past year.