The last week of August was a damaging one for both Celtic and Scottish football as a whole.
The shock defeat to Kairat Almaty in the Champions League play-off will go down as one of the worst of a long list of European disappointments in the club’s recent history.
The result sent Brendan Rodgers’ side into the Europa League, something which brings a huge cost to the club. Rangers also dropped into the competition the day after, with an embarrassing result of their own.
When the two sides faced off in Sunday’s Glasgow Derby, neither looked up to much. An unimpressive 90 minutes of football resulted in a 0-0 draw, which compounded the feeling around the country’s teams at the time.
The week has started many conversations about Celtic and Scottish football – including one in which former Rangers and Scotland manager Alex McLeish has weighed in.
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The match broke records in terms of lack of chance creation, reflecting badly on the state of the two clubs at this moment. It came after Celtic failed to score in 210 minutes of football against Kairat.
Speaking on TalkSport breakfast, McLeish bemoaned the lack of ability on the pitch for both teams.
“It was a hard watch. I’m certainly not used to seeing the two teams not playing at a high level. There is a lack of quality.”
When Ally McCoist suggested that Celtic’s European run last season – which saw them come close to shocking Bayern Munich – was a sign of positivity, McLeish added: “When I went into the Scotland job, we weren’t getting enough players through.
“There are a lot of foreign players being brought into the league, which curbs the development of the young players.”
Brendan Rodgers had three Scottish players in his Celtic side on Sunday, in comparison to two named by Russell Martin – though this does include Callum McGregor, who is now retired from international football.
Perhaps a lack of opportunities for young Scottish players is a contributing factor to the lack of success Celtic are broadly seeing in European football.
What are Celtic doing to address a lack of pathways for youth players?
Transfer Deadline Day saw Stephen Welsh leave Celtic to join Motherwell on loan, and he is perhaps an example of a young player whose development has stagnated.
Just this summer, Shaun Maloney was hired to replace Darren O’Dea as the club’s Player Pathways Manager, indicating a willingness from the hierarchy to address this issue.
However, it will not be a quick fix. Celtic’s B team continues to compete in the Lowland League, a regional competition which makes up half of Scotland’s fifth tier.
Whilst a selection of players continue to spend time out on loan, it remains to be seen whether this is a sustainable way to develop the club’s 17, 18 and 19-year-old talents.
For McLeish, a lack of pathways continues to limit the potential of Scottish clubs in Europe and the quality of the domestic game as a whole.
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