Celtic have issues but the ‘club in crisis’ narrative being spun by usual media critics is absurd

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You couldn’t make an argument for Celtic performing at their best or their full potential this season.

Sunday was more evidence of it, despite a 3-1 win over St Johnstone. Brendan Rodgers made it perfectly clear what he thought of the first-half performance in Perth – nowhere near the levels required.

A sluggish summer transfer window, severe injury problems, a League Cup exit and poor results in the UEFA Champions League have been significant frustrations for supporters since Rodgers returned to the club.

There are clear issues and nobody should hide away from criticism. Rodgers certainly hasn’t and in fairness, he’s pledged to address that with the addition of quality to his squad.

Despite gossip and speculation about rifts between the Bhoys boss and the board, time and again he’s demonstrated he’s with them on the direction Celtic are taking.

Some Celtic criticism is way over the top right now

Any criticism has to be kept in perspective and some are clearly losing that. For instance, Sunday Mail columnist Hugh Keevins stated today that Celtic were in “full crisis mode” and that there was a “perfect storm” building towards a “doomsday scenario” of being overtaken by Rangers.

This crisis stuff is absurd. The facts remain that Celtic are eight points clear, are unbeaten in the Scottish Premiership and are consistently finding ways to win even if performances aren’t exactly inspiring.

It’s not the first team Keevins has outlandishly predicted the demise of the Bhoys only to be shown up hours later. Before the 6-0 win over Aberdeen he declared that he would be astonished if Rodgers was still the manager next season, despite all signs suggesting otherwise.

Yes, today’s first half in Perth was concerning. But Rodgers’ substitutions – Mikey Johnston and Hyeongyu Oh – worked a treat and he clearly got a reaction from his players with a half-time address. If we weren’t seeing that it’d be a different story entirely.

Nothing can be taken for granted and yes, neither Celtic nor Celtic fans should bank a title before it’s earned. This isn’t the end destination of where we want this Rodgers team to be and nobody is pretending it is. There’s a lot of work ahead and everyone at the club needs to get the finger out in January.

But spare me the proclamations of spiralling into an abyss. There simply isn’t any evidence of that right now, even if it would be convenient for some.

In other news, Brendan Rodgers and Callum McGregor laud game-changing Celtic star in comeback win.