"First and foremost we are never going to be a club that splashes out on players as we just don't have the financial resources to do that and we will never be at that level when you see the economy of world football."

The words of Ange Postecoglou earlier this month when he was asked his thoughts on spending big money in the January transfer window.

There is a $64,000 dollar question looming large inside Paradise.

The club is on the horns of a dilemma all right.

The burning issue among the Celtic Park powerbrokers right now is just how far are they prepared to back the Aussie in the January transfer market?

There are £40 million reasons why the Celtic board really do have to back Ange to the hilt next month.

Speculation has been rife for months that Ange will raid the J-League for more stars in the Furuhashi mould. The Kyogo deal from Vissel Kobe in isolation should have had the whole Celtic hierarchy on red alert.

The £4.6 million Celtic splashed out on a player who is fast becoming as talismanic and popular as Swedish goalscoring sensation Henrik Larsson appears to be a shrewd piece of business by Ange.

That being the case the Aussie is well within his rights to point to Kyogo and utter the phrase: "Trust the process."

If the blazers and the suits do indeed "Trust the process" and "In Ange They Trust" then they should really be beating a path to the manager's door and asking if there are any more players like Kyogo who are willing to swap the Far East for the East End of Glasgow?

Celtic supporters have long since trusted the process. In the six short months since Ange took over the managerial helm, the fans belief is absolute and complete.

Celtic have lined up moves for Japanese trio Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi. It seems the ultimate no-brainer for striker Maeda to reunite with Ange whom he worked under at Yokohoma F Marinos.

READ MORE: Celtic's 'limelight hogger' over-reliance shows why imminent Daizen Maeda transfer essential - Alison McConnell

The Japanese international ended the season in style by scoring on the final day to become the top scorer in the J League.

Ideguchi is currently with Gamba Osaka in his native Japan, where he made 29 appearances last season.

The 25-year-old has previous experience of British football, after signing for Leeds United in 2017, though he never made an appearance in a competitive game.

However, would the capture of the Japanese trio alone be enough of a recruitment drive for Celtic in January?

Ange has seen how injuries and Covid have decimated his first-team squad at various junctures this season.

To all intents and purposes, Celtic are still chronically lacking in quality and depth.

READ MORE: The Celtic shining light amid injury nightmare - Alison McConnell

A quick look at Celtic's bench against St Johnstone in the final outing before the commencement of winter break would confirm that.

Throw into the mix the fact that the club may also be willing to trigger Jota's option-to-buy clause before the end of the season and have started to make enquiries about making on-loan Spurs defender Cameron Carter-Vickers stay a more permanent one.

Portuguese winger Jota has impressed since moving from Benfica in the summer, scoring eight goals in all competitions so far.

A fee of £6.5m was agreed in the summer with Postecoglou eager to take advantage.

The ball is very much in Celtic's court where that deal is concerned.

For all the talk of incomings, the manager must also be prepared to jettison some fringe players and get them off their huge wage bill.

Greek goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas has failed to impress since joining Celtic on a four-year deal in July 2020.

He was handed a rare outing against St Johnstone in Perth due to illness and injury but it still looks as though there will be a parting of the ways with the shot-stopper believed to be interesting a host of Turkish clubs.

It is also time that Celtic cut their losses on £3 million defensive misfit Boli Bolingoli and £5 million Swiss hitman Albian Ajeti.

Sometimes you have to just put your hand up and admit that things just aren't going to work.

It's clear that neither Bolingoli nor Ajeti really has a future at Celtic under Ange moving forward despite playing bit parts this season.

The best solution for both parties would be to sever all ties.

What a boon it would be for Ange and the Celtic supporters if the board for once in January speculated to accumulate.

If the Celtic hierarchy did conclude their business early it would be the clearest indicator yet that they have total faith in Ange. Trust the process and all that.

The Aussie has already secured the first domestic trophy of the season in the Premier Sports League Cup and guaranteed European football beyond Christmas in the inaugural Europa Conference League.

READ MORE: Celtic history lesson suggests they can win the Europa Conference League - Tony Haggerty

Yet Celtic still trail league leaders Rangers by six points in the Scottish Premiership title race.

Bearing in mind Ange's men are still up against a side that has lost just one league game all season and who domestically are seven out of seven Premiership wins under new Ibrox boss Giovanni Van Bronckhorst then the task is still a formidable one.

Rangers are still looking like a slick, well-oiled machine under the Dutchman.

This then brings us back to Ange's original point.

Celtic may not be a club that "splashes the cash" as the manager rightfully says.

If you know your history, then that is almost certainly true of previous Celtic boards, especially in January.

This January has a different feel to it though. Both Celtic and Rangers face a mammoth month. The Ibrox men could well be fielding offers for some of their best talent.

January could well shape, make or break either club's season.

The prize at stake at the end of the campaign is financially monumental.

Those upstairs in Paradise must realise that they will have to dispense with previous January transfer traditions and open up their wallets.

In Celtic's case, Ange most certainly needs players. A handful of them at best.

How many the Aussie is allowed to sign will serve to highlight the extent of the Celtic board's true ambition.

In just six short months Ange has brought the feel-good factor back to Celtic.

The choice facing the Celtic board is a simple, yet stark one.

Failure to back the manager in January then the Aussie and the Celtic supporters would rightfully feel short-changed.

Not only that Celtic would also run the risk of kissing goodbye to an automatic £40 million Champions League bounty in the process.

If the Celtic hierarchy does choose to back the manager then it's well and truly game on in the Scottish Premiership title race.

Celtic Way:

The Aussie has already plundered silver this season.

With the correct backing from above then the streets around the Celtic Way could well be paved with gold come May.

It's time for the Celtic board to dispense with their traditional January poker face and go all-in on Ange.

If they don't, it may well drive the manager and the Celtic supporters gaga.