Celtic, that was unacceptable. What the Hell happened today?

So, Celtic lost 3-0 at Ibrox today.

As a Celtic fan, I’m shocked, and I fucking can’t believe what I watched. The champions of Scotland went there to face the Ibrox mob and let them win just like that. Where were Celtic’s stars today? Where were they hiding?

What happened at Ibrox that allowed this mob and nasty McInnes the Rat to triumph? Why couldn’t the Bhoys in green and white show them who we really are, steal the show and beat them? What happened today was a shit show. This should never have happened, and I am still sitting here trying to understand what the hell I have just watched.

I came into this game expecting a fight. A proper fight. That’s what these games are; it’s as if the squad and the management team didn’t know that.

I expected the Bhoys in green and white to walk into Ibrox, look that mob in the eye and remind them exactly who we are.

We are the champions of Scotland. We are Celtic, the club that has spent years building a winning mentality, collecting trophies and making Paradise sing.

And today? Today, we let them win 3-0. And “let them” is not accidental phrasing. It is quite literally what we did.

I am shocked, angry and, if I am being completely honest, embarrassed by that performance. Losing a football match is one thing, but losing it like that is another.

There was no sense that we had come to take control of the occasion.

There was no feeling that we were going to impose ourselves, and no evidence that the Bhoys in green and white were ready to steal the show. Instead, we watched the Ibrox mob triumph, and that, for me, is the hardest part to swallow.

I keep asking myself the same question: where were Celtic’s stars today?

Where were the players who have dazzled us in recent weeks? Where was the hunger, the pressure, the strength and the power? Where was the desire to score goals and make this mob suffer?

I expected Duran to be flying into the box and causing chaos. I expected Høgh to be a constant threat and McGregor to bring his experience and authority. I wanted Hassan to show us what he can do and others to bring energy and unpredictability. I wanted to see those qualities making a difference, but where was the attacking threat?

I am not writing off any of these players because of one match. That would be daft. But I am entitled to ask why, in a game of this magnitude, so many of our players looked as though they had disappeared into the Ibrox fog.

Celtic needed players to stand up today.

Players to say, “Right, this is our moment. This is our stadium to conquer. This is our game.” Instead, I was left looking at the television and wondering whether I was watching the same Celtic side that had been growing in power earlier in the season.

And then we have the defence.

Oh, Celtic, that defence was poor beyond belief. At times, it barely seemed to exist. There were holes everywhere, and the Ibrox mob were more than happy to exploit them.

A team cannot go into a match like this and defend in such a disjointed, vulnerable way. You cannot give your opponents space, time and opportunities and then expect to walk away with anything. Especially against a side that has been desperate to land a blow on Celtic.

I saw a team that looked vulnerable at the back, with massive gaps appearing in midfield and very little support or communication between the different parts of the team.

The whole thing felt disconnected. That is what makes me angry, because Celtic are capable of so much more.

We have players who can defend, players who can control a midfield and players who can score goals. But today, it was as though the different parts of the team had forgotten how to work together. There was no proper defensive structure, no consistent pressure and no sense of control. That is not good enough for Celtic.

I also cannot ignore the fact that there were no Celtic fans in the ground today. I have said it before, and I will say it again: football without fans is nothing. Jock Stein’s words have never felt more relevant to me than they do today.

Celtic is not just eleven players on a pitch. Celtic is the supporters, the songs, the energy, the history and the emotion. Celtic is the roar that rises from the stands when the Boys in green and white need that extra push.

Today, our supporters were not there to give them it.

I am not saying their absence is the only reason we lost. It is not. I have already mentioned the defence, the midfield, the mentality and the lack of attacking threat. Those are serious footballing problems that Celtic need to address, but I do believe the lack of our supporters made a difference.

Think of Celtic Park, full of green and white, singing, shouting and demanding more. Think of the players hearing that noise when they are under pressure, and the energy that can lift a team when it needs a goal. We were never going to recreate Paradise inside Ibrox, but even a section of Celtic supporters would have given our players something to hear beyond the home crowd.

Today, there was no Celtic support inside Ibrox to offer that encouragement, and I cannot help wondering whether the Boys in green and white felt that absence. Football is not played in a vacuum. Energy matters, belief matters, and the connection between players and supporters matters. Today, Celtic looked as though they had lost that connection.

But the biggest concern for me is the mentality. Celtic did not just lose the game. It felt as though we lost the belief that we could win it.

Where was the champions’ mentality, the attitude that says, “We are Celtic, and we are here to take what belongs to us”?

I have watched Celtic sides lose matches before. I have watched us play badly. But there is a difference between losing a game and looking as though you have forgotten who you are. Today, I felt that difference.

The Ibrox mob were aggressive, determined and clearly desperate to make a statement. And Celtic? Celtic seemed to let them have the occasion. That is what hurts.

I do not want Celtic to approach these games as though we are merely another team in the league. We are the champions of Scotland.

We have a responsibility to ourselves, to our history and to the supporters who expect us to fight for every ball, every goal and every victory.

We cannot allow the Ibrox mob to dictate the terms of the game. We cannot let them make us look ordinary. And we certainly cannot let that nasty McInnes walk away thinking he has blown Celtic away.

I know this is football, and I know that sometimes the better team loses.

But being champions does not make us the better team on any given afternoon. We have to show it on the pitch, and Celtic also have to understand what these matches mean to the people watching them.

For me, Celtic are The Good. The Ibrox mob are The Bad. And the point is not to let The Bad win the fight. The point is to stand up, show our strength, our class and our hunger, and make sure that The Good come out victorious.

That is what I wanted today. I wanted the Bhoys in green and white to make the mob realise that the champions had arrived. I wanted us to leave that stadium with our heads held high, knowing that we had fought for every inch.

Instead, we left with a 3-0 defeat. And I am still trying to understand how we allowed that to happen. How did a game we should have approached with such determination become an afternoon when we looked so powerless?

Now, I have to give my verdict, and I am not going to dress this up in flowery language just for the sake of it. Celtic’s performance today was a disgrace. There you go: no complicated vocabulary required.

The defence was poor; the midfield was disconnected and the attack lacked threat. The mentality fell apart. The team failed to show the hunger and authority that I expect from the champions of Scotland.

I am not blaming one player, writing off the new signings or saying Celtic are suddenly a bad team. But I am saying that today was unacceptable. Celtic cannot play like this against the Ibrox mob and give them the satisfaction of winning so easily.

We cannot allow them to believe that they can simply blow us away, because that is not who we are. Teacher’s final mark: 3/10. And I am being generous.

The good thing, if there is one, is that Celtic have a week before facing them again.

A week to look at the defence, the midfield, the attacking options and the mentality. A week to ask the question: “What the hell happened at Ibrox?”

Then, next Sunday, Celtic have to show us the answer.

I want to see a different Celtic. I want to see the Bhoys in green and white come out with fire in their eyes. I want to see hunger, strength, power and that beautiful, nasty determination to win.

I want to see Celtic remind the Ibrox mob that one victory does not change who the champions are. And I want to see us give them a proper beating.

Because Celtic, you cannot let this happen. You cannot let the Ibrox mob think they have the power to make you disappear. You cannot let McInnes think he has blown you away. You are Celtic. You are the champions of Scotland.

So, where were you today, my champions? I hope you have a good, hard look at yourselves this week. Because next Sunday, I want to see the real Celtic.

And I want The Good to win.

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