CHRIS SUTTON has told Celtic fans the board have left it so late they might have to write off next season as well.

He watched his former side get thumped at Ibrox on Sunday and surveyed the damage from a season of neglect by the club’s decision makers.

The BT pundit believes the board raised the white flag on the ten in a row season back in October when everything was unravelling.

Instead of clear and decisive leadership, the fans were told to stand down and the board let Neil Lennon go on unencumbered.

It all just kept going wrong and nobody seemed to want to correct course. It’s resulted in what we’ve become and what needs to be done in order to get back to our best.

However, Sutton believes the chasm between the two clubs is so great on the park right now, it could take more than one season for a new man to get back the title.

Writing in his RecordSport column, the former Hoops striker said: “Celtic can no longer hang about. There are 11 weeks until the European qualifiers and the clock is ticking.

“I still can’t quite believe the way they wrote this season off. You look at the likes of Chelsea getting rid of Frank Lampard before Christmas and then making a real fist of the remainder of the campaign at home and in Europe.

“Celtic seemed to roll up the white flag as soon as it seemed 10 in a Row was gone.

“But the longer they’ve waited the tougher the job has got.

“Fans might need to accept next season is already beyond them. The new manager will need time even if it’s a precious commodity in Glasgow.”