One damning comment from Derek McInnes says it all about Celtic’s display vs Kilmarnock

Add as preferred source on Google

Celtic were dealt a sucker punch by Kilmarnock as they failed to see three points over the line on home soil yesterday.

Despite going ahead on 32 minutes due to Kyogo Furuhashi’s excellent header, the Bhoys didn’t seize the initiative and were made to pay.

Brendan Rodgers’ men began to drop deeper as the second 45 went on and were pegged back in stoppage time by David Watson, who ghosted in at the back post to grant the visitors a point.

The Irishman expressed his belief that ‘there’s still a long way to go’ in the race for the Scottish Premiership title; nevertheless, the end result on Saturday felt like a sobering one for many of the Celtic support.

Given the financial incentives on offer by virtue of the new Champions League format, time is of the essence for the reigning champions to prove they have what it takes to finish top of the pile once again.

Only 12 games remain in the league to turn these aspirations into reality, though an improvement in performance will need to arrive swiftly for Rodgers’ side.

Either way, the Hoops now have a week to stew over their disappointment before travelling to Fir Park next Sunday, with Motherwell laying in wait.

Derek McInnes sums up Celtic’s lacklustre display

In truth, it would be hard to argue that Kilmarnock didn’t deserve a point on the day against Celtic, especially given they had more shots on target and were also superior in the field of big chances created over the 90 minutes [Fotmob].

Visiting manager Derek McInnes has spoken about his side’s performance in Glasgow, and one of his comments has served as a damning indictment of the Bhoys’ lacklustre display.

McInnes stated [BBC Sport]: “We had to suffer a wee bit in terms of possession in the first half, but we felt a wee bit hard done-by by the fact we go in 1-0 down. That said, while they had a lot of possession, it was a lot of their players who we wanted to be in possession.”

Of course, the 52-year-old hasn’t directly referred to any Celtic players he would’ve wanted to be in possession of the ball regularly; however, the slow, laborious nature of Rodgers’ side’s ball progression did leave a lot to be desired.

Celtic are now in sink-or-swim territory

Celtic are now in sink-or-swim territory and could find themselves in second position by the time their rivals finish up in Perth later today.

On a positive note, key players such as Cameron Carter-Vickers, Reo Hatate and Alistair Johnston are still to return from injury before then; however, this season hasn’t exactly been plain sailing even when all have been involved in first-team action.

Rodgers needs to find a way to get a tune out of his side on a more consistent; otherwise, this trend of unconvincing performances will lead to greater ramifications down the line.