Chris Sutton has launched a stinging attack on the Celtic hierarchy in the wake of the club’s Champions League exit, branding the situation a self-inflicted disaster that could have been avoided with basic preparation and foresight.
In his Daily Record column, Sutton lays bare his fury at what he sees as a catastrophic failure from the board to back Brendan Rodgers in the transfer market — especially after the team’s relative success in Europe last season. The former Celtic striker insists the club’s inaction has now jeopardised both the European campaign and the upcoming derby clash with Rangers.
Sutton points out that the issues in the squad, particularly in key attacking areas, were visible as far back as January — and that the Champions League qualifiers should have been the club’s sole focus from the minute the last campaign ended. Instead, Celtic offloaded players like Kyogo and Nicolas Kuhn without ensuring replacements were in place, leaving Rodgers scrambling days before the deadline.
“No doubt we’ll be told the usual claptrap about having to wait for quality and so on. But Celtic’s transfer window shouldn’t shut this Monday. It didn’t even shut on the day squads were submitted for the play off.
“These are signings that had to be done in JANUARY. Celtic had more than a year to be ready for Kairat, yet went in totally unprepared.
“It was a total embarrassment the other night and you were left wondering how on earth it got to that stage.
“They’ve been warned for weeks. The fans have said it, along with journalists and pundits.
“It’s easy to ignore all of the above but the manager has been saying it – and even ultimate club man Callum McGregor.
“Those guys shouldn’t have been ignored.
“Listen, Celtic should still have been too strong for Kairat and the players and management have to take their share of the blame. But everything goes back to recruitment. It’s simply not been good enough.
“The mess the team was in the other night was mind-blowing. And having paid a huge price for the complacency by missing out on the Champions League, the frantic late chase has also put the Rangers game in jeopardy.
“Celtic should be going to Ibrox looking to bury Rangers. They are on their knees and a strong Celtic side – like 12 months ago – would have fancied their chances of wiping the floor with this dodgy defence.
“Now? We don’t even know what kind of side Rodgers will be able to put out. It’s probably just as well Rangers are in such a state.
“I can’t remember a time when both clubs have gone into a derby and almost been in crisis.”
It’s scathing and it’s blunt from Sutton, but do you know what? He’s hit the nail on the head yet again.
Rodgers tried to flip the narrative with the fans yesterday, but it simply won’t work with many, who are looking at the squad with three days left to go in the window.
