Going into the game against Hearts, most fans knew that there was a good chance that Celtic would not win. This team has not looked good enough for a long time now, going back to the second half of the previous season. But at least the results were coming. Now, they have stopped as well and questions are being raised about Brendan Rodgers' place at the club, and understandably so.
But even the most pessimistic of fans could not have predicted the manner of defeat that Celtic would suffer in this game. When things have gotten tough in the past, the Hoops have found a way to rise to the occasion. Right now, it looks like they are not even interested in doing so.
Admittedly, this is a team that has been left significantly weakened through injuries. But at Celtic, that cannot be an excuse, at least the domestic level. They should still have more than enough depth to win against teams working on a fraction of their budget. At the moment, they are not doing that.
As a result, Celtic now find themselves eight points behind Hearts. That would have been unthinkable at the start of the season. But it is reality today. And Chris Sutton is not impressed with what he saw. He wrote:
"How many Celtic players would get into the Hearts team right now? Hearts will never get a better chance to win the league… Celtic not even a Honda Civic today…"
'Not even a Honda Civic' - Chris Sutton's brutal reaction to Celtic defeat
It remains to be seen if Hearts can keep this up through the season. Or will they fade away like Aberdeen did last year.
For Celtic, the January transfer window seems to be the only hope. But they will have to make sure that they cut down the gap by then.
Let's see where things go from here for Celtic. But they are not looking good at the moment, that is for sure.