Kris Boyd demands to know where Celtic flop is at as one Hoops ace makes him say 'wow' amid struggles
The Rangers hero was on punditry duty as Celtic were downed by Dundee United
Kris Boyd insists Celtic are reaping the problems of poor transfer recruitment - as two signings this season were called out by the former striker.
The Rangers hero watched on from the Sky Sports punditry box as Martin O’Neill’s side were defeated 2-0 by Dundee United at Tannadice. It leaves Rangers in second and Celtic now sit third over the international break heading into early April, five points off Premiership leaders Hearts.
Recruitment has been firmly under the microscope throughout this season and amid illness for striker Tomas Cvancara, absent attackers Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Joel Mvuka were in Boyd’s line of fire. Balikwisha has rarely been spotted after a move from Royal Antwerp while Mvuka has been limited to cameos since his winter loan arrival from Lorient. A parting dig was also had for fans who vented their frustrations at Celtic board members present in Tayside, amid an absence from matches for a prominent ultras group, the Green Brigade.
Celtic transfer business assessed
Boyd said: “The angry brigade were back at the end. They are frustrated. It’s not good at Celtic right now and whenever you lose a game of football, it explodes. Every little problem appears again and I have always said it. Winning games of football at the Old Firm papers over the cracks.
“That is what Celtic have been doing recently. Martin will come out and he is very good at his speaking and he is clear in his points, but even since he’s come back in to now, he will be able to tell you that there are so many problems deep rooted at Celtic. A Celtic team that have been dominating in Scottish football for so long, the amount of games they’ve been hanging on and scoring late goals, it couldn’t continue and they’ve been caught short.
“They have spent money. They have spent money on wingers and they just haven’t been good enough. Balikwisha, where is he? I mean, where is he? It’s a good job they didn’t spend money (in January) because the winger, what do they call him who came on at Ibrox against Rangers? Mvuka? The one they wanted to spend £4m or £5m on? Wow. Celtic have spent money but the signings have just been terrible.”
Martin O’Neill on Dundee United 2-0 Celtic
O’Neill said after Celtic’s defeat at Tannadice: "Very disappointing, of course - the result, naturally, and the performance, second half, did not match anything at all. We had a lot of possession in the first half. We seemed to be camped outside their penalty area. We couldn't penetrate them, really.
"They got the goal and deserved to win the game. The second half, we probably didn't adapt, maybe to conditions. Of course, it's a concern. Of course, it's a big blow to us. We're beaten in the game and with games running down, we can't really afford to do that, but we're still in it.
"It's been difficult since I've set foot in the place both times [this season]. It is a blow but we're not finished yet. We have to bounce back, simple as that. We'll try and put things right again when we re-assemble."
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