The Celtic fans will have left Rugby Park today with more questions than answers as they watched their team crash out of the cup this afternoon.
The performance by Brendan Rodgers’ side is one that will cause the fans to take a long hard look at the squad as the transfer window nears a close.
But what it will also do is sharpen the supporter’s focus on why it all went so wrong. Did we miss too many influential first-team players? Is the squad depth strong enough or was it simply just a case of a bad day at the office?
Former Celtic manager, Neil Lennon had his say when he was analysing the performance post-match. And whilst he said there is work needing to be done, Lennon also offered a bit of balance and common sense to the result.
Lennon said [Viaplay Sports], “We said at halftime Celtic were a little bit flat today and obviously there is a bit of work in progress there for Brendan.
“It’s very early in the season. There are new players and it was a totally new defensive partnership. But that wasn’t the problem today.
“The midfield and the final third is where they lacked in creativity. But as I said, they’ll get better as the season goes on.
“I wouldn’t push the panic button just yet because it’s too early in the season but you’ve got to give Kilmarnock some credit as well. Not just because of how they played in this game but for the start they’ve had to the season as well.”
Look, I’m not naive. I know that this defeat is simply not good enough for Celtic. And so do the fans and the supporters.
However, with the players adjusting to a brand new style of play and to their new teammates, there will obviously be some hiccups along the way. We just weren’t expecting an early cup exit to be one.
For the past week or two we have been commending Celtic for their results despite their stuttering starts in the first two SPFL fixtures of the season. We can’t just rip everything up off the back of one defeat regardless of how disappointing it is.
Next up for Celtic is St Johnstone at home in the SPFL. Brendan Rodgers will need to ensure that the Bhoys come out of the traps for this one and show that this result today was just a bump in the road.
In other news, Brendan Rodgers comments cast doubt on Sunday Celtic transfer rumour
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