Why Celtic's managed decline of this season feels like self-sabotage

Having already coughed up one trophy to their Glasgow rivals this season, events at Pittodrie indicated that the threat to their crown from Govan is very real.

There has to be genuine fear that the 1-1 draw with Aberdeen was just the start for Celtic and that under Rodgers it is all starting to unravel at a ferocious pace of knots. A banner was held aloft by a section of the Celtic fans as the teams emerged from the tunnel. The message was a simple one but it was loud and clear. It read: "Celtic board - on your heads be it." Chants of 'sack the board' and '[Peter] Lawwell, get to fuck' were also audible in the Granite City.

READ MORE: Celtic fans call for Lawwell to leave amid banner protest

The January transfer window was underwhelming, to say the least. And the timing could not have been worse. Celtic have had a bang-average season. They are consistent in one thing only - inconsistency. Long gone is the rip-roaring, free-scoring, never-boring Celtic. That's been replaced with the uninspiring, misfiring, perspiring kind. Even Rodgers lamented the fact that his team are not hitting the consistency levels needed. He knows better than anyone what it takes to win a title, and he looks increasingly concerned.

As Rodgers stated in the aftermath of the Aberdeen match: "We have to sort it out on the field, That's the reality of it. It is my job as the manager to ensure that we get up to the levels that we need to consistently. The last couple of performances have not been at the level we want to be at. That is for us to sort out."

And Celtic have a lot to sort out. Their last two displays have been insipid and abject. The team are bereft of the kind of quality that the manager craves.

The team has regressed and are going backwards at an alarming rate. Teams seem to have sussed Rodgers' side out and that is evident in the fact that the goals supply of talismanic Kyogo Furuhashi has all but dried up recently. In fact, rather worryingly Celtic's last two goals have come from deflected efforts which handed them a narrow win against Ross County and a blush-saving point against the Reds.

The optics on that do not look good at all. What a time for Celtic's form to potentially go off a cliff. What a season for the domestic dominance to potentially crumble and fall apart at the seams.

There is still time and plenty of fixtures for Celtic to arrest the slide and halt the malaise that is permeating the club from those at the top right through to the recruitment as well as the management and playing staff.

However, Celtic's best run of form this season has seen them string together just six wins on the bounce. By stark contrast, Philippe Clement's Rangers have won 12 and lost just once in their last 13 matches - ironically to their derby rivals - at Parkhead on December 30. 

The mood music surrounding the two teams couldn't be more different Whilst Rangers are no great shakes the Belgian is getting a tune out of his men. Rodgers' team are hitting bum notes left, right and centre. There’s a feeling of deja vu and many supporters are comparing it to the season that shall not be named.

Back in 20/21, Rangers prevented Celtic from writing their own blank cheque and reaping the rich dividends that would have been on offer for securing their 10th consecutive title. The club could have marketed any product with the coveted 10-in-a-row on it. Sadly it was not to be.

There is a genuine fear at this juncture that this campaign is another that could explode in Celtic's faces once again. Rodgers will never admit it publicly but he may be beginning to think that the players he currently has at his disposal are not good enough to see it over the line. Celtic are not playing like three-in-a-row champions and haven't all season.

When the club imploded three seasons ago as history beckoned many viewed it as an unforgivable act of self-harm. It's funny that some of those same people are back in charge at the top running the club once more. Peter Lawwell and Mark Lawwell have both been accused of being complicit in a so-called managed decline of Celtic.

READ MORE: Why Celtic's 'scattergun' strategy COULD be their undoing

If 20/21 was an act of self-harm is blowing the Scottish Premiership title from a position of financial dominance. Is 23/24 tantamount to an act of sabotage born from incompetence? The answer to that key question will become much clearer in May.

History is beckoning again as we enter the dawn of a new Champions League era. The first British club to win the trophy back in 1967 could be conspicuous by their absence from said competition by failing to secure automatic entry.

Celtic need to sharpen up sooner rather than later. Rodgers knows it. The supporters know it. If they don’t they will hand Rangers a fat cheque upon which they can inscribe £60 million in the amount box. It is a critical lifeline that the Light Blues desperately need to compete against a club who has 8000 more paying customers.

It was all smiles back in June between Lawwell, Rodgers and CEO Michael Nicholson when the Northern Irishman was unveiled as the man to replace the highly successful Ange Postecoglou. It was a happy, if slightly odd scene. Nobody at Celtic is laughing now.

An eight-point lead at the top has been obliterated in just three months. Celtic may well have won the two domestic league battles against Rangers already this season but those victories will be pyrrhic for Rodgers and his men if Rangers end up winning the Scottish Premiership battle.

War? What is it good for? It's good for business.

Wait a minute, that reminds me, isn't Lawwell a businessman to trade?