The honeymoon has come to an abrupt end as Rangers, Real Betis and Livingston have all rained on Ange Postecoglou’s parade.

Not for the first time in recent weeks there was a feeling of deja-vu as Celtic found themselves stuck in a rerun of an old movie.

More frustrating than Livingston was Rangers’ performance as the Ibrox side dropped points to Motherwell with Celtic unable to capitalise on their stumble and make up ground.

Any Celtic win brings criticism to the fore but on the back of losing at Ibrox, shipping four cheap goals in Seville and running out of ideas against a Livingston side who have been impotent all season, it was always going to feel like a sharp turn in the road on Sunday evening.

The lack of confidence in Celtic may well have been exposed but just as damning has been the lack of depth within the squad.

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The injuries to Callum McGregor and Kyogo Furuhashi have been costly and have depleted Celtic hugely given that both set a tone that is conspicuous by its absence when they are not there.

But Celtic ought to have more than enough regardless of how long the queue for the treatment table is, to get a result against Livingston.

Three league defeats at this stage of the season is, frankly, nowhere near the form of champions.

It is an old cliché that title-winning teams grind out a result even when they are not playing well but it is a cliché because of the truth it holds.

It is about finding a way even when there are ten men behind the ball and nothing is coming off, it is about holding onto the belief even when the points look lost.

And one of the real problems for Celtic when McGregor is out is not just the missing link in midfield but the lack of leadership on the pitch.

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Joe Hart is fairly vocal and demonstrative but in the middle there is no sense of dominance, no inkling of someone capable of taking the game by the scruff of the neck and leading by example.

Having lost goalscorers in Odsonne Edouard and Ryan Christie at the very end of the window while Leigh Griffiths was shipped up to Dundee, Celtic were always going to be light in that area. There needs to be more responsibility taken on the pitch as the Parkhead side look to arrest their alarming run of away form.

It is now seven months since Celtic last won a domestic game on the road. It is a scathing indictment of recent performances. While Postecoglou has been applauded for a marriage to attacking principles, the bottom line is that right now Celtic as a team are too soft. No one survives in Glasgow with football that is easy on the eye but with a league table that jars.

Introducing an element of steel is necessary before further damage is inflicted.