Celtic hero in defence of board as opposing view presented

The club had a difficult end to the window and overall the summer is being rated as a failure despite nine players coming in the door. Winger Sebastian Tounekti was the only deadline day signing despite Rodgers wanting two wide men and two strikers, although Kelechi Iheanacho has since been brought in on a free.

Four of the new men - Shin Yamada, Hayato Inamura, Callum Osmand and Jahmai Simpson-Pusey - have been left out of the Europa League squad.

Supporters have often criticised the board for previous windows but there is a feeling this one may have been the worst yet, a sentiment pushed by former striker Chris Sutton.

However, another ex-player is now playing devil's advocate and suggesting club chiefs should not be targeted because of how successful they have been in running the club. Celtic are in rude financial health with the player trading model one important reason for that.

Mulgrew told The Go Radio Football Show: “No, I don’t think we can criticise the same group of people that have run such a great business model for years now, for however long, 25 years or however longer.

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“They’re bringing players in for a certain price and selling them on and that’s why the club is in such a stable position.

“Now listen, I understand being a Celtic fan myself, I want to see signings come in the door. I’d love, let me just say, the first day of August, you see five, tens, and fifteen millions just getting thrown at teams.

“But the reality is, it’s not the way the game works. Obviously, Celtic are hard negotiators, maybe harder than other teams. And that’s why they’re getting a bit of stick.

“But listen, that’s the way they negotiate. It’s the way they’ve always done it. We can sit and moan about it, but it’s just the way Celtic operate.”