Martin O'Neill's biggest Celtic mistake was to not issue an ultimatum to the Bhoys board ahead of the new season.
It is no secret that the veteran boss had reservations about taking the job, and it wasn't just about his age. The 74-year-old had expressed concerns about taking on the job full-time due to the energy it would take to run the team full-time, but he also had concerns about the squad.
O'Neill knew significant investment was going to be needed after major failures last summer, when Brendan Rodgers was still in charge. The veteran boss later confirmed that he didn't tell the board they must sign a certain number of players or anything along those lines, but we do know he first spoke to them about the level of investment required to make the squad competitive at the higher levels.
By this point, we know the story of the summer transfer window. Celtic took way too long to address their squad, and when they did, they made four decent signings then scrambled to get six players in on the final day of the UEFA squad registration window.
The Bhoys were ill-prepared for the transfer window and paid the ultimate price, suffering an embarrassing elimination from the Champions League. Celtic have since lost to Rangers twice and Ferencvaros in their Europa League opener.
Weaknesses in the squad have exposed some of O'Neill's shortcomings at this stage of his career, there is no hiding that, but he shouldn't be in this position.
His biggest mistake was not presenting the Celtic board with an ultimatum. O'Neill has so much credit in the bank with fans that he could have walked away on the back of poor investment and most would have understood his decision.
When those Champions League qualifiers drew closer and the four early signings had not been added to, when Arne Engels had not been replace, O'Neill should have told the Celtic board to sort it out or he walks away.
Someone has to put this inept board in a position where they must invest or make a decision that is going to enrage fans, and allowing O'Neill to leave over recruitment would have been one of those decisions.
Instead, O'Neill has played the role of a good soldier, got on with it, and now the consequences are a potential sacking or a resignation on the back of disappointing results, which is a sad way for it all to end.
The fans are not going to hold this against O'Neill, and rightly so. He has done wonders for the club over the years, and as recently as last season, but it would be a bitter way for him to say goodbye for the last time.
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