No lessons learned from LASK, in fact after yesterday, it seems as if Celtic have given up learning lessons from anything

Over the last year or so, we’ve listened to people from within Celtic tell us that lessons have been learned.

We’ve been told that people understand the fans’ concerns.

We’ve been told that we’d have an exceptional transfer window.

And we’ve been told that at Celtic, everything else is secondary to the footballing operation.

If what happened yesterday translates into all of the above, then we’re well and truly on the road to mediocrity.

Yesterday was the day when all of the lies we’ve listened to from Celtic’s Axis of Feeble came home to roost.

And before anybody says this is on Martin O’Neill, let me stop you there.

Yes, yesterday was on Martin O’Neill.

100% it was on Martin O’Neill.

Not since the days of Neil Lennon’s baffling selections have we seen a team selection as mind boggling as yesterday’s.

But everything that went before yesterday is the reason yesterday happened.

Martin O’Neill is in place at Celtic because the board lacked the imagination or ability to land anyone else.

And that is not a slight on Martin O’Neill and his achievements at Celtic, because not one of was disappointed when he got the job.

The alternative was Robbie Keane.

I just don’t think any of us expected capitulations of the magnitude we’ve witnessed against LASK and now the Ibrox side.

Capitulations which have now left serious question marks around Martin O’Neill’s ability to navigate the remainder of this season.

After yesterday, next Sunday has now become a crucial fixture for Martin O’Neill and his coaching team.

Because as the heading of this article says, it seems as if up this point, no lessons at all are being learned at Celtic.

In any capacity.

That needs to change, and change drastically next Sunday.

Otherwise, as I stated in last night’s article, this season for Celtic is in danger of being flushed down the drain.

Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney have a lot of soul searching to do between now and next Sunday.

Because they’ve handed the momentum to Derek McInnes and his Ibrox side.

Up until yesterday, McInnes was winning games by single goal margins.

I doubt that even he expected that one of his easiest games of the season would come against the Champions.

I’m sure he imagined yesterday would be extremely tight.

Not the three goal romp it turned out to be.

Celtic were lucky to leave Ibrox having not conceded more than that.

I’m not going to go into detail about the formation, or the team selection anymore.

I said everything I needed to say about that in last night’s article.

It’s up to Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney to start seeing the things everybody else can see.

Unfortunately for us, they are the only ones who can change this.

Martin O’Neill spoke about changing things in the football set up several times in the run up to, and during this season so far.

Yesterday’s result tells us that, if anything, Celtic have regressed since last season.

If there was ever a time for change, this is it.

Balázs Borbély, the Ferencváros Head coach will be rubbing his hands at the prospect of facing Celtic on Thursday evening.

Especially after studying our performances against LASK and the Ibrox side.

Martin O’Neill needs to think long and hard about the impact another European loss could have on morale heading into Sunday’s fixture against the Ibrox side.

If he is going to make changes, then that is the game in which to do it.

He needs to start by dropping Sebastian Tounekti.

Following that, he needs to take a long hard look at how he is going to utilise the players he has at his disposal.

Shoehorning them into a formation he inherited from Brendan Rodgers is not the way forward either.

Losing against Ferencváros would not be the end of the world.

But losing against them in a similar manner to the way we lost against LASK or the Ibrox side?

That would be unacceptable.

If Ferencváros are used as the template for change, and we witness the green shoots of something positive from that, nobody will complain.

Now is the time to do it.

There is no better time.

It’s time lessons were learned, once and for all.

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