Celtic

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Jota could return to Celtic action earlier than expected, with a behind-closed-doors game being planned during the international break. (Scottish Sun, external)

The door has not closed on former Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe taking charge of Celtic, according to Stenhousemuir boss Marvin Bartley, who played under him with Bournemouth. (Glasgow Times, external)

Celtic forward Camilo Duran's international debut for Colombia hangs in the balance with paperwork delaying his entry to the United States. (The National, external)

Fares Ghedjemis, the 24-year-old winger targeted by Celtic and Rangers this summer, could sign a new contract with Frosinone. (Gazzetta dello Sport via Glasgow Times, external)

Former Scotland midfielder Michael Stewart has revealed he had the chance of a move to Celtic before returning to Heart of Midlothian for a second spell during his playing days. (The Herald, external)

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Andy Robertson's dreams of playing for boyhood club Celtic were shattered when he was released at age 15 - but the Scotland captain now regards it as "the best thing that happened to me".

After being let go for being too small, Robertson was plucked from the scrapheap by fourth-tier Queen's Park, beginning a rise that took him to Scotland stardom and Premier League and Champions League glory with Liverpool.

Speaking on The Overlap Podcast, external, 32-year-old left-back Robertson, who is now with Tottenham, said: "I'm a big Celtic fan, had a season ticket, was ball boy for a couple of games. So Celtic was everything.

"So when you get released at that age it's not the nicest. I turned 15 in the March and then in the summer I got let go. I'd been there since I was seven.

"In fairness I was pretty small and slim. There was a big change at Celtic at that point, Tommy Burns had just passed away, new people had come in and wanted to take it in a different direction.

"But it's the best thing that happened to me really, looking back.

"I look at players who had stayed at Celtic and were maybe still there in their twenties but did they make any first-team appearances? And then at 20 they're trying to get their career back on track by going to lesser teams in Scotland.

"So I was quite happy that my journey had started earlier than them."

Robertson's self-belief understandably suffered. And it was his auntie's unwavering confidence that helped convince him he was far from finished.

"At that point I wasn't thinking I'm going to be a footballer. I just wanted to play for Celtic - that was my dream," he added.

"Fifteen is a difficult age as it as, but I had people around me that did believe. My auntie was one of the big people.

"I remember when I came back from Celtic Park after being let go, my auntie was standing at the top of the steps with a takeaway for me - my favourite curry - and she was convincing my mum and dad, saying 'No, he'll make it'. I don't know why she had so much confidence in me, but fair enough."

With Martin O'Neill taking stock of his future following three defeats in a row, you asked you whether the Celtic manager should stay or go.

Here are some of your comments:

Brian: Martin did what was needed last season and should have left on a high. He doesn't need the pressure, senior management have taken him for granted to save them money, let Martin enjoy his retirement.

Christine: If O'Neill wants to retain his legacy then he must leave. This path affords him some dignity, slowly draining with every loss. It's not even just the losing, hurtful as that is, but the manner in which we have been playing. Any manager has to take some responsibility for these shabby displays.

John: The time for a new boss is the end of the season, at which time bring Ange Postecoglou back. For now O'Neill is a proven winner. With Jota, Alistair Johnson and Yang back plus the next transfer window for the suits to back him, O'Neill will be a bigger legend than he already is. No panic. Nothing won yet.

Mark: O'Neill is a Celtic legend and the latest manager to be sold a pup by the board. Everyone and his dog knew exactly which positions needed to be filled but the board blocked the signings. They are the problem, not the manager.

Edward: If O'Neill thinks he can still get this team up to a competitive position in the league until we can properly bolster the midfield in the January transfer window then I think we should all get behind him. He knows what he is doing, he just needs our 100% support, he will come good.

Andrew: O'Neill is a Celtic legend, he's put his heart and soul into our club and we will be eternally grateful and will always remember his name, but this is painful now. The man is 74 and doesn't need (or deserve) this hassle. He's defending a board that is indefensible as well as trying to make a team gel. It's time for a younger manager now, Kieran McKenna or Robbie Keane would be high on my wishlist.

Liam: O'Neill should be allowed to decide what he feels is right for him. He has nothing to prove as a manager, he's still and will always be a club legend. His health must come first.

Margot: Please stay. We need you.

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A prominent Celtic supporters group has expressed anger at the club's "alarming" decline and "continued mismanagement".

The rancour of last season has returned over the past month after a Champions League play-off collapse against LASK and three defeats in eight days - including two derby losses to Rangers - leading into the current international break.

On Tuesday the club announced a loss after tax of £4.8m for the year ending June 30, 12 months on from making a profit of £33.9m, and a 22.7% revenue drop £111m.

"Anger at recent shambolic results on the park in big games was compounded yesterday by Celtic plc latest financial results," read a statement from Celtic Fans Collective, a coalition of supporter groups formed a year ago.

"The statements from the 'interim' chairman (Brian Wilson) and CEO (Michael Nicholson) typically lacked humility and did little to improve the mood. Supporters are not fooled.

"The stark reality is that Celtic FC is underachieving across the club and the trajectory is alarming.

"We have highlighted the signs of this decline since our formation. We will continue to hold the club to account and fight for the standards that the Celtic support deserves.

"Celtic Fans Collective representatives met with Celtic FC yesterday to discuss the club's fan engagement strategy. We also the took opportunity to express the deep frustration at the continued mismanagement of the club. A full update will be shared with members shortly."

Tino
Fan writer

There's been no shortage of debate over the past few days about what's gone wrong with Celtic.

The shape. The starting XI. The confidence. The recruitment. And of course, Martin O'Neill himself.

All of those are fair talking points. But I keep coming back to one area more than any other.

The midfield. Because when Celtic have struggled this season - particularly against stronger opposition - that's often where the problems have started.

At Ibrox Rangers were more aggressive, more physical and more dominant through the middle.

Against Ferencvaros Celtic again struggled to control the game.

And on Sunday there were long spells where we simply couldn't dictate the tempo.

And as we know, there's no obvious way to fix the problem externally until January at the earliest.

Celtic do have attacking quality. Camilo Duran. Kasper Hogh. Shim Mheuka. James Forrest. Haissem Hassan. Yang Hyun-jun. Jota potentially on the way back.

But if you can't consistently get the ball into those players in good areas, all that attacking talent becomes far less effective.

O'Neill has seven senior midfield options, but no combination has yet provided everything Celtic need.

Callum McGregor still has a major role to play, but his ability to dictate games doesn't appear to be at the same level it once was.

Benji Nygren gives you goals and assists, but in the bigger games his inclusion can leave too much responsibility on those behind him.

Mika Baur is in good form and that's been reflected in his first call-up for Germany.

Luke McCowan looks short of confidence. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain somehow remains on the fringes.

Oliver Sorensen is still a mystery, while Joel van den Berg has yet to play a competitive minute and was recently seen in a protective boot.

Lots of options, but very few clear solutions.

What Celtic need from midfield is pretty apparent. More control, more physicality, and more composure. And enough creativity to feed the frontline.

But the seemingly preferred trio of McGregor, Baur and Nygren doesn't appear to be giving Celtic enough of those qualities when the level rises.

And when you lose the midfield battle, everything else becomes harder.

The defence gets exposed. The full-backs get pinned back. The forwards become isolated. You start chasing the game instead of controlling it.

So perhaps the focus during this international break has to be on finding a better solution in the middle of the park.

Who gives McGregor the right support? Does the captain himself still merit an automatic start?

Who has the composure to play through pressure? Who gives Celtic enough physical presence? And who can consistently get the ball into the final third?

Two shots on target across two games against Rangers says a lot about Celtic's current chance creation.

Until those midfield questions are answered then the same problems will keep resurfacing.

Whether it's O'Neill making those calls or someone else, Celtic need to find a solution soon.

Tino can be found at The Celtic Exchange, external

Celtic have backed manager Martin O'Neill after a "painful week" of three consecutive defeats - but is he still the right man for the job?

After O'Neill cast doubt on his own future following Sunday's 1-0 derby loss to Rangers, chief executive Michael Nicholson said on Tuesday night the club will "come together and support" the 74-year-old.

We want your views on Celtic's managerial latest. Would O'Neill be best to call time on his tenure? Or does the three-week international break provide the ideal opportunity to reset and go again?

Share your thoughts here.

Celtic and Rangers are among a long list of clubs keen on a January loan move for Arsenal midfielder Max Dowman, who turns 17 on 31 December. (TeamTalk, external)

Wednesday's Scottish gossip

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Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton is concerned for Martin O'Neill and believes Cameron Carter-Vickers' "disgraceful" comments highlight a disconnect between the squad and manager.

Under-pressure O'Neill is weighing up whether to continue in the job after defeats to Rangers either side of a Europa League home loss to Ferencvaros.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club, Sutton said: "I'm just concerned about him.

"He had an operation not so long back. He hasn't looked particularly well.

"The stress he has been under - you think about what he did last season, going back once, then going back again, getting Celtic over the line, all that drama.

"Getting the job in the summer, I didn't necessarily want him to take it, because that was like a perfect finish.

"I hated seeing him doing the press conference [post-match on Sunday]. He looks tired. He offered that comment [on considering his future]. That doesn't bode well.

"A lot of the age stuff has been thrown at him, and I wonder if it's all a bit too much.

"He's clearly thinking about pulling the plug on it, which many of the players, based on Carter-Vickers' comments, may want. I thought that was disgraceful, what he said."

Following Sunday's 1-0 home loss to Rangers, defender Carter-Vickers said Celtic are lacking an identity, were "too random" in their play and called for "consistency of messaging, consistency of ideas, consistency of effort".

Sutton, who played under O'Neill during the Northern Irishman's first Celtic spell, labelled the remarks "astonishing".

He added: "That is a criticism of the manager. Why did he say that? I don't get it. It's about players taking responsibility.

"Why is it always down to the manager and coaching staff to tell players exactly? It used to happen when I played, we'd make a decision on the pitch.

"I don't know why the onus is always on the manager. These aren't 12-year-olds. There's a lot of experience in the team."

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Does Martin O'Neill still want to be the "whipping boy" of a "slightly dysfunctional football club"?

As he considers his future following three successive defeats, including back-to-back Old Firm losses, the Celtic manager has plenty to ponder.

"If you're talking about whether O'Neill will stay on or not, there's various things he has to consider," says Stephen McGowan, football writer for The Herald.

"He has to consider whether he can still get a tune out of this group of players, but also whether he wants to continue being the frontman for this slightly dysfunctional football club.

"They don't have a director of football. They've not replaced Paul Tisdale, the head of recruitment.

"I'm not absolutely certain if they've replaced Jay Lefevre, who left for Swansea and was the kind of chief scout. Not officially anyway because they don't really communicate, they don't tell you, and that's the point - O'Neil has become this lightning rod for the frustration of supporters because he is the only person putting his head above the parapet.

"The directors don't do that. Dermot Desmond doesn't do that. Michael Nicholson doesn't do it. It all falls to O'Neill to almost take that frustration on the chin.

"That is one of the concerns I think people have, whether he should continue to be the kind of whipping boy for this club which has more deep structural issues.

"The problems Celtic have go beyond the technical area. And I think that's one of the things he needs to ask himself, whether he wants to continue being that guy or whether actually he thinks, you know what, I don't really need this."

Listen to more Celtic analysis on Tuesday's episode of the BBC Scottish football podcast

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Celtic remain the team to beat despite Rangers' back-to-back derby wins, according to Ian Durrant.

Celtic have lost three straight matches in all competitions, including the two defeats by Rangers, but remain two points ahead of their rivals at the top of the Scottish Premiership.

Durrant - who won 13 major honours as a player at Ibrox - is excited by Rangers' recent form, but says they still have work to do to be considered Scotland's top team.

"Rangers are very young and inexperienced but they're sticking together and they're showing signs that they could be a good team," the 59-year-old said, speaking at a press conference to promote the SPFL Tennent's Sixes at Glasgow's Braehead Arena next month.

"They've got a lot of physicality about them. But it's very early days now, nothing's given out in September.

"You've got to make sure you go on a run now and make sure you hang on to Celtic.

"There's a lot of hard work still to do. It's good just now but there's a lot of tough games coming up.

"Celtic are the benchmark for where Rangers are trying to get to. We're still chasing Celtic. They're the team to beat.

"Rangers have not got that experience just now. Rangers are playing well just now but Celtic have got that experience, players that have been over the course.

"They're what all teams are trying to aim for. If we can overtake Celtic then we've got a fair chance of winning the league."

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Tom Boyd believes Celtic's Champions League play-off collapse against LASK last month is the cause of their recent poor form.

Martin O'Neill's side threw away a four-goal aggregate lead in Austria as they missed out on Europe's premier club competition.

Celtic were knocked out of the Premier Sports Cup and beaten in the league by rivals Rangers, either side of losing their Europa League opener 3-1 against Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros, making it three defeats in their past three matches.

"We've had better weeks, that's safe to say," said Celtic ambassador and former player Boyd, speaking at a media conference to promote next month's SPFL Tennent's Sixes at Braehead Arena in Glasgow.

"With the performances in the last few weeks, possibly the LASK game has maybe shot some of the players' confidence, being in that position and losing that lead.

"I think the LASK game took everybody by surprise, taking a 4-0 lead [on aggregate] and losing. That's something that has probably taken longer to get out of the system than what it should have done.

"We'll get three weeks now, there's players who will hopefully get that confidence back by going away on international duty and what the manager does with the rest that stay behind is try to get that [confidence] back, and make sure that we're ready for the next run of very difficult games."

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Celtic centre-half Cameron Carter-Vickers has admitted it has been difficult to get all their summer signings "on the same script" but expressed confidence in their squad despite three damaging defeats in a row that have called into question the future of manager Martin O'Neill.

The 74-year-old veteran team boss wondered if it is time "to wrap it up" as he headed into the international break pondering his position at the Scottish Premiership leaders following Sunday's 1-0 defeat by Rangers.

But Carter-Vickers told Sky Sports: "I agree with the manager - I don't think there was much in the game. Neither team were particularly good. There's a lot we can improve on, but I'm confident in the group we have."

Asked why Celtic's season had taken a downturn with two losses to their city rivals either side of Europa League defeat by Ferencvaros, the United States international added: "Hard to put your finger on one thing.

"We played a bit too random. We need to get better at that, getting a script and sticking to it.

"The last two games we've played have been big pressure games. As players, you rely on having something to fall back on.

"We haven't had the time to get that. As players, we can do better for sure. It's something we can improve on.

"There's a lot of new players at the club. It's about getting everyone on the same script. The group are together like we've always been. We need to find consistency."

We asked for your views after Celtic lost 1-0 to Rangers, their second defeat by their rivals in the space of a week.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Arthur: Martin O'Neill is not the problem at Celtic. He won the league and cup double in a disastrous season of boardroom mismanagement. The CEO keeps getting sold pups. All the recent signings are third-rate journeymen players in European terms. Celtic deserve to win nothing this season. Dermot Desmond will have to assume his responsibilities as majority shareholder, and dismiss the CEO and board. O'Neill and other football professionals should feature on the new board.

Paul: MON is and always will be a legend. But, he should have walked into the sunset after the Scottish Cup final. I don't blame him if he leaves for the benefit of his health. Players aren't performing. If MON goes, Shaun Maloney needs to go too because his tactics are like watching paint dry.

Laurie: Celtic made a net profit of £19m in the last transfer window. The inescapable conclusion has to be therefore that better players left than the ones who came. Total lack of ambition by this board.

David: A good time for MON to retire given the shambles brought on by Celtic's board and poor summer signings.

Johnnie: Celtic's confidence is low and when they are up against it the players look nervy. The international break gives them time to work on some things. No panic yet, we are not the most successful team in Britain for nothing.

Paul: The writing was on the wall yesterday and only one team showed up again for the third time in a week. A season that started with so much promise and optimism is now bordering on hubris with Celtic on the brink of a catastrophic collapse. There must be wholesale changes at the club now with another attempt to entice Eddie Howe and his backroom staff to the club to try and galvanise and overhaul this extremely passive group of individual players, to try and ensure that stability is maintained and restored immediately.

Stephen: Really was men against boys. Celtic very poor, a shocking performance. Rangers ran the show, they should've been out of sight. Emmanuel Fernandez should have seen red in first half, but even if he did get sent off, Rangers would still have won. Celtic are a shambles on and off the pitch.

Phil: Why oh why does O'Neill have a loyalty to Callum McGregor? He is finished, devoid of any ideas or skills anymore, over the hill and washed up. Again we had the wrong formation and wrong players in the wrong positions. Hopefully we get Jota, Alistair Johnston and Callum Osmand back in three weeks' time to steady us up because we really need help now.

Despite many putting two-and-two together following Roy Keane's appearance at Sunday's defeat by Rangers, the former Celtic midfielder and friend of under pressure current boss Martin O'Neill made it abundantly clear on the most recent Stick to Football podcast he would never attend a game with the ulterior motive of replacing a manager. (Daily Record, external)

Reacting to Celtic's defeat by Rangers, Roy Keane remarked to Celtic AM that it was the "ups and downs of football". (The National, external)

Considering Roy Keane's last management job was 15 years ago, the idea he would be the next manager should be too silly for words, but it is time for Martin O'Neill to exit and you cannot rule anything out the way Celtic are run these days. (The Herald, external)

Despite defending Celtic's summer recruitment in public, Martin O'Neill was privately despairing as he later admitted the current squad is weaker compared to the end of last season. (Graham Spiers on Press Box Patreon), external

Former Celtic striker Frank McAvennie has criticised Shaun Maloney, saying the assistant is active on the touchline when their side is winning but absent when losing. (Glasgow Times, external)

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Celtic sustained a third defeat in a row after Rangers left Glasgow's east end with a 1-0 win in Sunday's Scottish Premiership match.

For Martin O'Neill's side, it followed last Sunday's 3-0 League Cup loss away to Rangers and a midweek Europa League defeat at home to Ferencvaros.

Former Celtic captain Scott Brown was on punditry duty for BBC Scotland and shared his thoughts on the game.

"Rangers won more duels than Celtic," he said. "They just looked that little bit more reactive than what Celtic did. They've not done enough over the game to go and deserve to win that. The pressure was very, very passive.

"They went in their ones and twos, didn't go as a team. They got bullied throughout the pitch. That's two games in a row - that's not good enough.

"There's a lot of pressure on how Martin O'Neill now deals with that three weeks in that international break and how he can come out the other side. He's got to have an understanding of what his best team is, what his best shape is and go from there.

"He's been through hard times, he's been through good times but now his job is to get the best out of that Celtic squad."

Former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner was in attendance at Celtic Park.

And he told BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound: "Rangers should've put that game long out of sight and they thoroughly deserved their victory.

"That's not the way that the fans have been used to Celtic playing over the last maybe 10 years so something's far wrong. Is it down to the players? We don't know but it's up the management to fix it.

"They've got to fix it very, very quickly because they're in trouble at the moment."

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