John Hartson has offered two suggestions over what has gone wrong at Celtic with neither making for comfortable reading.
With a clear wedge between a significant section of the support and the Board evident in Saturday’s chanting a similar stand off between players and the manager would be near fatal for hopes of retaining the SPFL Premiership title.
Hartson knows more than most about the special chemistry in a dressing room. As a teenager he moved in with Tony Adams, Ray Parlour and other party animals at Arsenal, spent time with Wimbledon’s Crazy Gang then had his best days under Martin O’Neill where any one of five or six players could have been captain. Leadership and responsibilities didn’t need to be discussed.
2 things possibly going wrong at Celtic.. the players are coasting and some of them think they are better than what they are.. secondly the players are not putting everything in for the manager.
— John Hartson (@JohnHartson10) December 18, 2023
There is a clue in the word management, you are expected to manage even if you do have reservations about what you inherited and doubt the quality of the summer recruitment that sent you into the Champions League with a weaker hand than your predecessor.
Under Ange Postecoglou, and that is the comparisons that Brendan Rodgers will need to get used to whether he likes it or not there was only one hint of a player that thought he was better than his status within the squad.
During the World Cup break last winter word emerged that Giorgos Giakoumakis was looking for a significant improvement on his long term contract.
Rather than let discontent set in Postecoglou scouted a replacement, the former VVV Venlo man came off the bench to create a priceless equaliser at Ibrox but his manager already had plans for his replacement.
Oh Hyeon-gyu has scored some vital goals, not as many as Giakoumakis but he fitted into the squad harmony with the authority of the manager reinforced.
Hartson’s second point, that players aren’t giving their all is probably more concerning but again it is something that falls under the remit of a manager.
A big squad is difficult to handle but the playing squad is fairly tight and compact, there are about eight regular starters and the same number that seem to fill up the other places on a rotational basis.
Selling players on long term contracts isn’t easy but without discipline in any workplace there is anarchy.
Second time around Rodgers is discovering problems that he never encountered when he delivered seven trophies out of seven. If there are any further slips before the winter break there will be legitimate concerns that the former Leicester boss has lost his touch with a swift change in leadership required.
