GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - FEBRUARY 19: Celtic's Auston Trusty looks dejected at full time during a UEFA Europa League Play-Off First Leg match between Celtic and VFB Stuttgart at Celtic Park, on February 19, 2026, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Paul Devlin/SNS Group via Getty Images)
There has been a danger creeping into Celtic for a long time now, and it was not loud, it was not dramatic.
It was far worse than that. It happened quietly and it did not emerge from adversity.
Instead, it emerged from people getting too comfortable.
It came from complacency.
And if this club doesn’t wake up to it quickly, this season will not just be remembered as a disappointment. It will be remembered as a warning we chose to ignore.
We keep hearing the same things, game after game. “We need to learn.” “All of us need to get better.”
Alright, boys. But where is it?
Because I don’t see the action. I don’t see the improvement. I don’t see the work being done to fix the weaknesses that have been obvious for months. And that’s the truth.
For me, this isn’t even about losing games anymore. That happens. It’s football. You win some, you lose some. What matters is how you lose, and what we saw at Tannadice wasn’t just a defeat. It was something worse. It was a collapse.
A team that looked like it had lost its identity and belief. A team that, for long spells, didn’t even look like it understood what was at stake. One shot on target in the first half. Barely any more by the end of the game.
That’s not Celtic. That’s not even close.
And the worst part?
Every one of us saw this coming.
We saw it in the summer, after a dreadful transfer window. We saw it when the structure around the manager started to break and people in the club started briefing against him. Rodgers had tried to shake them out of their slumber and he failed.
Then we saw it in January, when the same mistakes were repeated again.
We saw it week after week when we scraped results that masked deeper problems.
The signs were always there. Flat performances that looked fine on paper but felt wrong when you watched them. A lack of sharpness. A lack of hunger. That edge that defines Celtic at its best just wasn’t there, and still, nothing changed.
That’s what frustrates me the most.
This collapse didn’t come out of nowhere. It built slowly, quietly, week by week. Month by month. Year by year. Dropped standards, poor decisions, inconsistency at the worst possible times. Warning signs everywhere. Nobody acted.
That responsibility lands heavily, once again, on the Celtic board. Because how many times have we seen this story? A squad that needed strengthening … left short. Weaknesses that were obvious … ignored. A lack of quality and depth that only becomes fully visible when the pressure is on. It’s always reactive. Never proactive.
And that’s complacency.
You cannot stand still in football, especially not when you are supposed to be setting the standard. But that is exactly what Celtic have done. And when complacency creeps in at the top, it spreads. It filters into recruitment and it filters into performances and mentality.
That is what we are watching now. Because this is not just about tactics or form.
It’s about attitude. There are too many players in this squad right now who simply are not showing what it means to wear the green and white jersey. That shirt carries responsibility. It carries pride. It carries weight. You are not allowed to be passive in it.
You are not allowed to drift through games. Nor are you allowed to hide when things get difficult.
You demand the ball and you fight and you lead. Right now, I don’t see enough of that. I can forgive mistakes. I really can. Footballers are human. But I cannot forgive a lack of fight.
I cannot forgive players who don’t look like it hurts when we drop points. Because for us, it hurts. It always does, and that’s where the disconnect is.
There are players who, whether it’s technical, mental or physical, are simply not at the level required. They don’t lift the team or drive standards. They don’t make the players around them better.
At Celtic, that should be the baseline.
Wearing the Hoops isn’t just about being a footballer. It’s about carrying something bigger than yourself. If you don’t understand that, or you can’t handle it, then you shouldn’t be here. Simple as that.
I’ll be honest, after the last game I felt something strange. Relief. Relief that that particular performance was over and that I didn’t have to watch that again. And maybe, if I’m being really honest, a sense that the title is slipping away and that this team, playing like this, does not deserve to win it. That hurts to say.
But it’s true. And now we are at a crossroads.
This is not just about the players of course. There is even more complacency in the boardroom. That’s where it starts, and it trickles down through the whole structure and the worst of it is that complacency doesn’t just disappear. If anything, it lingers. It becomes part of the culture if it is not challenged. That is the real danger.
Not just losing a title, but becoming a club that accepts this. A club that explains it away instead of confronting it. Celtic cannot afford that.
There has to be accountability. There has to be honesty. And above all, there has to be change.
Because if this moment doesn’t force that reflection, then we are only setting ourselves up to repeat it.
This season should hurt. It should sting. But more importantly, it should teach. If Celtic are willing to learn. Because right now, the worst part isn’t the result. It’s that none of this feels surprising. We all saw it coming.
Choose The CelticBlog as a ‘Preferred Source’ on Google News for quick access to the news you value.

” Weaknesses that were obvious … ignored.” There’s your answer Paulina. and where does that stem from? The board 100%. They all have to go, from the moustache downwards, two many players were sold and not replaced.
I also do not want to see Martin O’neill blamed, no manager in the world could do any better than Martin has, how can he change any systems with all the injuries we have.
How many first team players were on the park when DU scored their two goals?
As long as Lucan & Co. are stinking out the whole fuckin place, the complacencies will continue unabated for ever and ever and ever…
Until they’re not there !