Celtic’s decline is clear, obvious and doesn’t seem to be slowing

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The Celtic Star

·3 October 2025

Celtic’s decline is clear, obvious and doesn’t seem to be slowing

I was in the mood to write this article last night after the final whistle as I had a lot to get off my chest but instead thought it would be sensible to sleep on it, hoping that perhaps I would wake up the following morning and not be as frustrated and angry as I was post game.

Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel fails to stop a shot from distance Ricardo Horta of SC Braga who scores to give Braga a 0-1 lead. Celtic v Braga, UEFA Europa League, Group Stage, Celtic Park, 02 October 2025. Photo Stuart Wallace IMAGO Shutterstock

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Somehow I almost feel worst today as reality sets in. The reality that it’s going to be a long hard slog watching Celtic this season. By the way that’s not an overreaction to what I saw last night, it’s an honest assessment after watching our first ten games of the season.

In those ten games we have scored a total of nine goals. Let that sink in for a minute. In previous seasons we could be talking about a certain player having those numbers but in this case it’s the overall team’s grand total.

I wrote an article pre-match yesterday revealing my concerns for this season. I talked about our lack of attacking threat. I stated that if we were to have any hopes of finally kick-starting this season then we needed to take six points from our two games against Braga and Motherwell before we enter another international break. We failed miserably to claim those first three points last night as another game passed and another blank in front of goal was registered.

Celtic FC v S.C. Braga – UEFA Europa League Sebastian Tounekti of Celtic and Braga’s Victor Gomez during the UEFA Europa League match, round 2 of 8 between Celtic FC and S.C. Braga at Celtic Park, on 2nd October 2025. Photo Mark Runacles IMAGO/ Anadolu Agency

We were tough to watch last night. Some may point to the disallowed goal, which is one of the worst decisions I have ever saw in European competition by the way, and say that changed the game. They may be correct, we were certainly in the ascendancy at that stage of the match but that doesn’t change the fact that for the majority of the game we were woeful yet again. Our style of play is so pedestrian. Game after game I watch and think to myself why does this look like a pre-season friendly?

Worryingly with each passing match I can’t help think to myself that this is all starting to feel a bit similar to the ‘Covid season’. There are so many different negative story lines surrounding the club. The board. The manager’s future. It’s clear a few players want away. It’s also obvious that others have become comfortable and aren’t putting in the type of performances that are essential if you’re lucky enough to pull on the green and white hoops.

Colby Donovan in action during the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD2 match between Celtic FC and SC Braga at Celtic Park on October 02, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

No one looks motivated. So many players are bang out of form. Schmeichel was awful last night. Even before his clanger he was misplacing passes all over the place and putting more unneeded pressure on our defence. Does Rodgers have the balls to drop him for Sinisalo? I doubt it but it’s a decision that most fans would encourage.

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Our midfield was once again all over the place. I have consistently brought this up since the start of the season yet our manager still hasn’t found the fix for this underperforming area.

Inheanacho is one of the very few players who looks like he’s giving his all and able to make an impact. Tounetki is another. Players trying to make something happen. I think we have to end the Daizen Maeda out right experiment as he’s completely ineffective in that role. But who do we have to replace him? Most likely it will have to be James Forrest as Yang’s head and heart can be found around Birmingham somewhere and Balikwisha has looked completely out of his depth since he arrived.

Dane Murray’s clearance is deflected past Kasper Schmeichel during the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD2 match between Celtic FC and SC Braga at Celtic Park on October 02, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

If we are totally honest this decline has been pretty steady since February when we cruelly went out of the Champions League to Bayern Munich. Since then we have struggled in all our big matches, failing to beat theRangers in three attempts. Losing the Scottish Cup Final against a poor Aberdeen team. Embarrassing ourselves against Kairat Almaty. Last night’s turgid performance just added to the list.

The downward spiral doesn’t look like it’s stopping anytime soon. At this moment in time it’s almost impossible to see how we stop the slide and turn this around and that’s the worrying part.

Although things are looking up in regards to getting answers from the board with a meeting planned for Monday, the board aren’t going to help us out of this mess. If they didn’t back Rodgers with money in the summer there’s absolutely no way they are going to open the cheque book to him in January, not when they know he will be off in a few months. And whatever sound bites our manager has been revealing recently about no contract offer and that he would certainly think about it if he had one, he won’t be here next season. Not a chance.

Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Celtic, looks on prior to the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD2 match between Celtic FC and SC Braga at Celtic Park on October 02, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Rodgers is smart. He sees the decline in this team and knows it’s not suddenly going to get better in the summer. This current team has run it’s course and quite significant work will need to be done to inject life into it next season and it won’t be under our current manager.

In regards to the rest of this season however we are going to have a real battle on our hands to even remain on top domestically never mind in Europe. The players need to dig in. They need to stand up and fight for every point, even if that means grinding out results at times. I hate writing negative articles but I’m sure I’m not the only one who is prepared for a bumpy ride this season.

Ricardo Horta of Sporting Braga celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD2 match between Celtic FC and SC Braga at Celtic Park on October 02, 2025.(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

I stated in my last article that if we fail to beat Braga some players will be wishing we were having a silent protest as it’s better than hearing the moans and groans from the stands. If we fail to beat Motherwell then Celtic Park could suddenly be sounding an awful lot like Ibrox.

Conall McGinty

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