THE boos that rang out around Celtic Park on Saturday evening after the hugely dispiriting goalless draw against St Johnstone made clear the dissatisfaction that Celtic supporters are currently feeling over the direction of their team.
The visiting Saints, who had eight new signings in their line-up and three debutants, have had a summer from hell. A disastrous and downright embarrassing League Cup campaign was followed up by two defeats in their opening two Premiership matches, with no goals scored and the concession of four.
Whatever the discontent at Celtic following their own League Cup catastrophe at Rugby Park last Sunday, this looked for all the world like the perfect opportunity for Brendan Rodgers’ team to really bare their teeth and restore some confidence ahead of what already looks to be a massively significant showdown against Rangers next week.
Instead, they were toothless, and amid those grumbles at full time on Saturday was no doubt a great deal of trepidation over what lies ahead when this team – who appear to be struggling to come to terms with the transition from the style and demands of Ange Postecoglou to those of Rodgers – head to Ibrox without any of their own fans following them there.
In the early stages of the game against Saints, Alastair Johnston could be seen drifting into the central areas where Postecoglou preferred his full backs to operate before correcting his positioning. And the less said about the performance of Daizen Maeda on the right of the attack – he had a first half shot that landed in the corner housing the Green Brigade – the better.
The tweaks that have been made to Kyogo's role in order to have him linking the play from deeper areas more often seem to have somewhat stymied his threat too, with crosses regularly flashing through spaces in the box you might previously have expected the striker to be occupying to tap home.
Of course, it might not exactly be this iteration of Rodgers’ team that does in fact enter that particular Bear pit. The Celtic manager has publicly and consistently called for quality additions that will improve his starting XI, a need heightened by the departures of key personnel and injuries to others. A hectic week of transfer activity looks certain to ensue before the window shuts on Friday night, and any new arrivals will likely be pitched straight in.
Of the players who were on show at the weekend, and who may largely have to be relied upon again at Ibrox, it was only really the returning Johnston, Matt O’Riley – though, he missed a couple of golden opportunities – and winger Hyunjun Yang on his first start for the club that emerged with any real credit for their performances. Yang in particular showed some promising flashes of creativity before tiring in the second half.
For his part, his performance after the game in downplaying any internal anxieties about taking on Rangers next week in their current state was even more admirable, if a little less convincing.
"I think it's just a normal league match,” Yang said. “I will train ahead of the match as usual.
"I was just told there will be no Celtic fans in the stadium and it will be a tough game, but I will work hard ahead of it. "I definitely think there are no times that are always good and when something bad comes, there is also good coming too. "So I am looking forward to this week.”
There likely won’t be many Celtic fans in the same camp after their last two matches.
On a personal note, Yang also reflected on a bittersweet afternoon as he was named in the starting XI for the first time.
"It was my first start for Celtic and I was excited about it, but unfortunately, we didn't get a good result,” he said. "I could have created more chances, but in the end, it didn't happen for us. "I tried my best to show everyone what I could do but I don't think I was at 100 per cent. There were a lot of times where I could have done better, and I guess I was a bit nervous.
"I actually don't feel pressure at all. The only thing I am thinking about is how I can commit even more to this team.”
One man who could scarcely have contributed more to his side was St Johnstone keeper Dimitar Mitov, who backed up his own impressive start to life in Scotland with some fine stops at Celtic Park, particularly frustrating O’Riley.
Those efforts were appreciated by his teammates, and stand-in skipper on the day Dan Phillips has been blown away by his impact since arriving at the club in the summer.
“Unbelievable, Bulgaria’s number one!” Phillips said.
“He has really surprised me. I thought Remi (Matthews) was unbelievable last season and it’s tough to replace a goalkeeper like that.
“But it looks like we have another amazing keeper. He is very vocal, commanding, comes and claims crosses. Really happy with him."
Phillips was handed the armband as Saints manager Steven MacLean reacted to the poor defeat in Dingwall to Ross County last time out by shaking up his own starting XI, and he led his team well as they showed they perhaps aren’t the soft touch relegation certainties that many pundits have earmarked them to be.
“I just went into the changing room before the game and saw the armband in my place,” he said.
“I thought someone was taking the p**s out of me! I thought the boys were having a laugh!
“But it’s a privilege. It shows the manager has faith in me and I’d like to think I have repaid it. Hopefully, it is not a one-off and something that can happen going forward.
“But I have always said there should be 11 captains on the pitch and I thought there were against Celtic. Everyone doing their job and everyone talking.”
