Alan Thompson says Celtic are pedestrian and lack flair

Former Celtic player and assistant manager Alan Thompson says Celtic are lacking the flair they once played with.

The former right-hand man to Neil Lennon at Celtic knows how it feels to be under the spotlight as he and Lennon were under considerable pressure before turning it around.

Despite being top of the table the 42-year-old, who was part of the last side to win the domestic treble as a Celtic player says the pressure is on Ronny Deila when he spoke to the Daily Record.

As an outsider looking in, I’d think he has to be under some pressure.

Come the end of January, if Aberdeen are still sniffing around Celtic’s tails, it has to be readdressed.

There is a massive game coming up against Hearts and he is going to be judged over the coming weeks, as he should.

Thompson also compared Celtic’s recent fortune to that of Manchester United’s as both lost at home to teams they are expected to beat.

Deila’s men lost 2-1 to Motherwell at the weekend whilst Louis Van Gaal’s side lost 2-1 to Norwich.

If I look at Celtic they are like a Manchester United of Scotland. So if United’s manager is under pressure and being looked at then it stands to reason it’s the same at Celtic.

Celtic’s situation reminds you a lot of the situation at Manchester United at the moment.

He also commented on the games he has watched this season and made a point many fans will agree with.

The games I have seen this season, they have been so pedestrian. You associate Celtic with flair and a bit of pace, to play with some style.

A lot of the matches that I have seen have been fairly slow paced.

United are the same as Celtic in terms of the way fans view them. They expect their team to play with some style and flair so they are not happy when it doesn’t happen.

Celtic and United supporters expect attractive football and players to get them on the edge of their seats.

While the odd defeat like Saturday may happen, Thompson says the league position isn’t what would be expected at this stage of the season.

You look back over the years, even the stronger teams have lost the odd home game as Celtic did to Motherwell last weekend.

But you do not expect the position in the league to be as it is. You expect Celtic to be top of the league come Christmas but you do not expect it to be by a single point.

You would expect Celtic to be comfortable and a long way in front, not just one point with a game in hand.

Hopefully in a few weeks after the Christmas period they will have pulled away and made some breathing space but it’s not ideal at the moment and the natives are getting restless.