Might actually be a good thing- Sutton raises the Dermot Desmond factor

Chris Sutton believes that Sunday’s defeat in the Glasgow Derby can give Celtic another ‘Ronny Deila’ moment with Dermot Desmond taking in the action.

Just short of nine years Celtic lost a Scottish Cup semi-final on penalties to Mark Warburton’s side, the next time the former city dealer faced Celtic he had a very different opponent in the dug-out in Brendan Rodgers.

Celtic hammered the newly promoted outfit 5-1 and never looked back, it was the launch of the greatest ever period of domestic domination in Scottish football, yielding five trebles out of eight with every prospect of a ninth this season.

Legend has it that the sight of gloating Ibrox directors spurred Desmond into sacking Deila with Rodgers arriving as his successor.

It shouldn’t take the antics of opposing directors to spur a club into positive change but whatever the cause it has been a golden era for Celtic.

Sunday was the first time that back-to-back Derby defeats have been inflicted in front of supporters, it also casts a shadow over the almost flawless record in the Derby enjoyed by Rodgers.

Sutton has witnessed all of the highlights, the dominance under Rodgers I, a treble under Neil Lennon and the full force on Ange Postecoglou restoring Celtic’s domination.

Another treble is very possible but recent Derby fixtures have been concerning, on Sunday Celtic’s mover and shaker had a front row seat as things went badly wrong.

Desmond takes some set-backs personally, writing in the Daily Record Sutton explained:

As far as Celtic are concerned, Sunday might actually be a good thing for them.

I go back to the Ronny Delia Scottish Cup semi-final defeat on penalties to Rangers a few years ago. That game was a kind of reality check. It was a warning not to rest on your laurels.

And with the likes of Dermot Desmond in the stands that day, they responded by going out and getting Brendan Rodgers in as boss.

Sunday will have shown that for all they have this lead and are well on course for a treble, there is still work to be done this summer.

The Celtic bench proved it. For all the talk about their strength in depth, it was pretty slim pickings and Rodgers didn’t have too many options.

I know Paulo Bernardo was out, along with Auston Trusty and Liam Scales, but it’s not like there was an injury crisis.

Too many players had real off days and the failure to sign another striker to replace Kyogo in January also hit home.

It’s difficult for a team to have an edge when they’re 16 points clear and there’s not much jeopardy going in. I get that.

But it also comes from the top. Letting Kyogo go mid-season with no replacement sends out a message that the board thinks the league is done as well.

No one can tell me that would have been allowed to happen if the gap was only a couple of points. It’s complacency – and that’s something Celtic cannot afford ahead of next season.

There can be talk about whether or not Rangers are coming. They’re already there. They have proved they can be a match for Celtic on the field and if they can figure out how to deal with the rest of the Scottish clubs, it will be a different ball game.

Without two starters and three regular substitutes Celtic’s squad strength was found wanting, the bench contained five players that haven’t started an SPFL Premiership match this season.

There is no need for panic on the back of Sunday’s defeat but equally lessons have to be learned to prevent further set-backs with every area of the team requiring strengthened during the summer transfer window.

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