Chris Sutton has issued a fresh warning to Celtic following their pre-season thrashing by Ajax, insisting the 5-1 defeat could actually serve as a much-needed reality check for Brendan Rodgers and the board.

Writing in his Daily Record column, the former Celtic striker believes the result should strip away any illusions about the club’s readiness for the season ahead and expose the lingering weaknesses that remain unaddressed since the end of last term.

The Hoops had produced a respectable performance in a 2-0 win to Sporting Lisbon earlier in the week, but Sutton believes that display gave a false sense of progress, one now obliterated by a sobering loss to the Dutch giants.

“I said last week the Sporting win was the worst result for Rodgers because it papered over some of the cracks,” Sutton wrote. “That’s why the Ajax one might be a GOOD thing for Celtic. At least now no one can kid themselves on that everything is hunky dory.”

“People can call it a wake up call or a reality check but they’ve already had those. They got it before the end of last season when Rodgers was critical of some of the squad being too comfortable.”

Celtic’s pre-season preparations have so far failed to inspire confidence among large sections of the support, with questions still hanging over the squad’s depth, particularly in wide areas and central defence.

There’s been a lack of rumoured incomings, and with the league season kicking off in a week, it’s not instilling much faith in the Celtic support. There have been some good additions, like Nygren and Tierney, but far from enough.

The Ajax result may have been a friendly, but Sutton believes it delivered a blunt message and one Celtic can’t afford to ignore.