Chris Sutton warns Celtic that current form will not be enough for title success
Chris Sutton has warned Celtic that their current performances will not be sufficient to secure the league title.
Martin O’Neill’s side secured a win against St Mirren on Saturday, but the display was far from convincing.
This has been a recurring issue throughout the season, with the Hoops often struggling for attacking sharpness and creativity, instead grinding out narrow victories to stay in the title race.
Sutton believes this approach is risky.
Chris Sutton says Celtic ‘just won’t’ win title with current performance
Sutton said on Sky Sports: “If Martin O’Neill is right with his calculations…
“He says they need to win all five games… Celtic can’t win the league with their level of performance. They just can’t.
Unless the wheels fall off Hearts and Rangers in their positions, I just don’t see it. Because performance is important.
“Why? Because they haven’t beat Hearts all season. They haven’t beat Rangers all season (in the league). I don’t think Hearts and Rangers fear Celtic.
“I don’t think any team particularly fears Celtic, and that is a problem. It’s ok getting the Green Brigade back in, and people talk about the atmosphere…
“But where I think that at Rangers and Hearts the whole club is connected, I still don’t think there is that connection at Celtic.
“I’m talking about on the park as well, with the players. You talk about the number of goals… 112 last season. 59 this season. That’s remarkable.
St Mirren, who sit tenth in the table and were led by an inexperienced interim manager, still managed to play through Celtic’s press at times on Saturday, reinforcing Sutton’s argument.
With Celtic’s attacking output lacking consistency, there is little to stop opponents from believing they can get a result against them.
And although the “Martin O’Neill effect” may still prove enough to clinch the title, it is unlikely to come without significant difficulty.