Former Celtic and Blackburn Rovers striker Chris Sutton has said that the Hoops are facing the potentially season defining bombshell of missing out on Champions League qualification if Brendan Rodgers does not bring in some new signings.
The Parkhead outfit are set to kick off their season in under two weeks time with their first qualifying round clash against Armenian side Alashkert, as they look to make it the group stages of Europe’s premier club competition once again.
However, with the likes of Dedryck Boyata at the World Cup with his country, Sutton is concerned about the experience and quality Rodgers has at his disposal, and believes without reinforcements, the Bhoys are destined for disappointment.
He wrote in his column for the Daily Record: “As much as it’s a feather in the cap for the club to boast two of their players in the last 16 of the World Cup (Boyata and Mikael Lustig), it counts for little compared to the status of being a Champions League side.
“It’s important they have more quality because even as early as the second round they could be facing Rosenborg, who proved really tough to beat last year when Celtic edged a 1-0 in the last qualifying round.It’s all about priorities and with the first qualifying round against Alashkert looming just 10 days from now, it’s very much the time for Celtic to put themselves first.
“Celtic must have a contingency plan in place to sign some experienced quality defenders soon to address gaps in a defence that was already an area of massive concern. It would seem to be pretty foolish not to do something in the transfer market urgently because the ends justify the means.
“If Celtic don’t add to the squad and go out the Champions League they’ll lose a pot load of money just for the fact they sat on their hands.”
Opinion
Sutton may well be overestimating the impact that Boyata and Lustig have on this Celtic side, but he is right in saying that it would be a disaster were they to tumble out of the Champions League before even reaching the group stage. The money picked up from their European exploits is one of the main reasons they are dominating on the domestic stage, so failure to qualify this season would give the likes of Rangers and Aberdeen the opportunity to catch up and close the gap at the top of the table. Rodgers did bring in some defensive reinforcements over January and it remains to be seen whether that is enough to navigate the next stages of the qualifiers, but not having the option of other players is a risk which could end in tears for the Bhoys. Does Rodgers therefore go out and splash the cash sooner rather than later? Perhaps he will wait until the round of 16 ties have been played in the World Cup, so he has a clearer idea of who will be available.