Can Brendan get a Tune out of these Celtic Players

I always try to write with my Celtic glass half full but after Saturday’s flat performance against Kilmarnock it is a hard task as I sit down early on Tuesday morning to pen this piece. The dust has now settled but the anger from fans within the stadium and those watching around the World has not.

This season fans have booed the team after poor performances and results. Calls to back the team and sack the board in stadiums have been backed by some supporters on social media. The reason is simple from a power of strength we have now fallen behind our biggest rivals the rangers.

Many fans see this as a betrayal of those in charge of the club by penny pinching in the transfer market. Some comments suggest this season could be as bad as the Covid season which saw club legend, Neil Lennon lose his job.

The board will point to the massive success they have overseen at the club over the decades and when this season’s European campaign question comes up it could be described as unlucky. Fans might agree with them on Europe but they will also look to the success of teams like Copenhagen who like us play in a league outside the likes of the EPL and La Liga but managed to get to the last 16 of the Champions League.

Beating the rangers twice has been the highlight this season so far when they were favourites to win both games but these results may have only papered over the cracks. The early exit from the league cup was put down to the plastic pitch and Brendan Rodgers needing time to get the best from a team weakened by the players who left in the summer.

A disappointing January transfer window has come and gone and now the frustration of some fans after Saturday has changed from the board to the manager with calls online for his sacking in the heat of the late equaliser from Kilmarnock who have now knocked us out of the league cup and took 4 points off us in the league.

It has been said that one of the reasons Brendan left Celtic was lack of backing to strengthen the team from the board so surly he must have had a reassurance from Dermot Desmond that he would be backed to build a stronger team? This is a question many fans would like to get an answer for but as usual we are kept in the dark as to how our recruitment team operate and how much input the manager has.

After watching the game on Saturday I have seen nothing that would suggest that Celtic will lift any silverware this season. Brendan just can’t get a tune out of these players since they returned after the winter break.

I hope I am wrong but we seem to be stumbling from game to game while Brendan mumbles from interview to interview. We have 3 first team players still to return and we can only hope that they can bring some spark to the team and to support Callum McGregor to get a tune out if this team on the pitch.

Next up we travel to Motherwell away on Sunday, I’ll be there to support the bhoys so lets hope we witness a positive response from the players and we can be enjoy a more positive conversation when we sit down in a Glasgow pub for the post match pints.

Three points is a must with the rangers hosting their Edinburgh cousins, Hearts on Saturday.

Andrew Milne is based in Drogheda, Ireland. He is Editor of More than 90 Minutes Celtic Fanzine, host of the Celtic Soul Podcast and travels over land and sea to follow Celtic home and away.