It Should Not Take More Signings For Celtic To Beat Livingston Away.

I usually only write about transfer stories, but when people are writing about how Ange needs more money to spend to start getting results, my hackles go up especially we’re talking about people like John Hartson.

Don’t ever trust the opinion of anybody who thinks that the only answer to a problem result and performance is “buy more players.”

The debate some seem to want today is about how many more transfer windows Ange Postecoglou needs.

But to do what?

To beat Livingston away from home?

To be honest, that’s an embarrassing conversation to be having because the squad as it currently stands ought to be good enough to do that quite convincingly. The team he put out at the weekend ought to have done it quite convincingly.

Notice that the manager himself made no such excuses. He identified the problem; that we didn’t show up and play with the proper level of intensity or aggression. He knows this isn’t a problem with not having good enough players, a wholly unsustainable argument when you consider the vast disparity in resources which exists between the two clubs.

The manager got money to spend. Did we cover every area in the manner we might have? No, but then that was never likely to happen over the course of one window and in order to get the squad where he wants it will take more time.

But let’s be honest; barring a crisis which puts out seven or eight first team starters, we ought to have enough about us to go to the bottom club in the league and win. All these arguments about the squad not being up to par are nonsense when you consider the standard of the league we’re in; we should be making mincemeat out of sides like the one Martindale has.

Let me say what should be blindly obvious, because it was blindly obvious to those running the show at Ibrox these past couple of years.

You don’t need a squad which is as good as the one your rivals have, you only need one that’s better than everyone else and you need to beat those other teams week in, week out, as any manager at Celtic is expected to do.

If you’re doing that you build your own momentum and then you wait for the other lot to slip.

We put out a starting eleven for the weekend’s game which was more than capable of getting that result. Albian Ajeti cost more, individually, than the entire Livingston team. All this talk about Ange not having his squad yet is crap in the context of this single game and this single result.

The players and the coaches need to take a good look at themselves after the weekend.

Anyone kidding themselves that this will be fixed by spending money doesn’t know how football works. This guy wasn’t brought in to be a chequebook boss, he was brought in to rebuild a shattered squad and make players better … he needs to start getting results with what he has. After that, we need to spend to get to the next level.

That’s not the level of being able to beat Livingston away.

Frankly, if the squad isn’t already at that level then might as well chuck it right now.

The Rumour Guy is a Celtic fan and blogger from Glasgow.