Former Celtic favourite Paul Lambert has had his say on the club's poor transfer business this summer. The Hoops have only signed one new player so far this summer, and there is no sign of it getting any better.
Celtic's lowball Kelechi Iheanacho offer was rejected, and Marcelo Saracchi's agent has confirmed there has been no firm approach, leading to the Uruguayan player deciding to pursue other avenues.
There is no telling who Celtic's next signing will be, and the club say they are struggling to convince players to join the club for one reason or another, suggesting Scotland and Glasgow has something to do with it. But Rangers don't seem to be having any trouble at all with their recruitment, and they don't have the prospect of Champions League football.
There is now real concern about Martin O'Neill's squad, the lack of options, the lack of quality, and that's before the likes of Arne Engels, Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate leave the club, as is expected.
Lambert issues verdict on Celtic business
"The squad's not strong enough," Lambert told BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound. "I've seen Celtic, they're nowhere near good enough at this moment in time, nowhere near it. Everybody recognises it.
"They'll compete, but I don't think they're strong enough to go and win it [the league] again at this moment in time. The problems were there last season, so they're not going to change again this season.
"The squad was very, very limited on what it was last season. They won't get away with that again - the manager knows it."
Lambert also feels as though Celtic's recruitment infrastructure needs a major overhaul, saying: "I don't think it's time for panic stations.
"What I do know from being in the Championship and being in the Premier League, the Championship now is a league where the Premier League was about 10, 15 years ago. You're talking off the scale in some of the clubs in the Championship.
"Celtic is not a development club, it's a winning club where you have to win titles. You have to compete. You have to compete domestically and you have to compete in European terms.
"You can't buy young kids to come in there and grasp that club because it's too big and it's too demanding. You need ready-made players to come into the club, especially if they're going to compete in the Champions League. They're in a little bit of a predicament. How they do it and the only way you can do it is spend the money. If you don't spend, you stand still. You have to improve."
Lambert is right in that Celtic must accept they need to invest. There are clubs all over the world who struggle to attract players, whether it is because of the league they play in or something else. But Celtic have the advantage of having money to spend.
You can only convince players by spending money and adding the odd nought to a contract offer, so to speak. It's how this business works, and because the Hoops do not play in one of the best leagues in the world, it is unlikely they will get the players they want without paying a little over the odds.
That must be accepted, at least until a better scouting and recruitment system is put in place.
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