Chris Sutton warns 'in decline' Celtic over do-or-die Europa League clash
Chris Sutton has warned that 'in decline' Celtic are practically out of the Europa League if they cannot pick up a win on Thursday night.
The Bhoys face a huge task against Turkish giants Besiktas, who boast players like Leandro Trossard and Dusan Vlahovic. Besiktas already have seven points in the Europa League and are well on their way to finishing in the top eight and securing automatic progression to the Round of 16.
Celtic, meanwhile, will be lucky to get to the playoff round, requiring at least nine points, if not a couple more, from their last five games to progress, and they haven't looked good enough to beat any sort of decent side this season, especially in Europe. To make matters worse, they still have to face Marseille within their last four games, so their path to nine points is not a comfortable one.
In the meantime, former striker Chris Sutton has been dissecting Celtic's current predicament on The Warm-Up.
He said: "I think most Celtic supporters are not happy with what they have seen this season. I mean, I described them as flat track bullies earlier on in the season. I think that that was really accurate. And now you could argue the last couple of league games that they're they're not even that, not getting over the line against Dundee United, albeit, you know, Dundee United have impressed under Jim Goodwin.
"And then Falkirk at the weekend. So, there are issues there. there are issues there which aren't going to go away. You know, Martin talking about Celtic and the history of winning things, I don't think that washes with the one, Celtic fans, because you know they want to talk about the here and now. And I use the word regression a lot about Celtic, everybody sees what is happening. People watch the games every week and see that this is a team in decline.
"It's a team going backwards. It's a team which may still have enough to win the the Scottish Premiership. But, you know, you can't get away from the fact I mean, we talk about the same things. Europe is massive for them. Thursday night against Basiktas, absolutely enormous. And I think Besiktas are going all right in the Europa League.
"But if Celtic lose at home again on Thursday and then I think the game as Kilmarnock at the weekend and Kilmarnock, you know, they're conceding I think they've conceded 26 goals, something like that this season. They're conceding, you know, two goals a game. You would look at that for Celtic as a bit of an open goal, but it's a what if.Celtic lose on Thursday, imagine the mood, Martin saying, "Well, they can still qualify in the Europa." Really? I mean I mean they can but highly unlikely."
