Celtic 'stripped of quality' ahead of massive title fight

Celtic 'stripped of quality' ahead of massive title fight:

Can Martin O'Neill trust the Celtic players to step up in the Scottish Premiership title race.

Following their second loss at Tannadice this season just before the international break, O'Neil's side now need to make up a five point deficit to be in with a chance of securing their 56th Scottish Premiership title.

The Parkhead club have won 11 of the last 12 league titles but face a tough test if they want to pick up their fifth top flight win in a row.

The departure of key players - including the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi and Nicolas Kuhn - as well as manager Brendan Rodgers' resignation and the abysmal tenure of Wilfried Nancy have all contributed to Celtic's woes this term.

And Paul John Dykes of the Celtic State of Mind Podcast blames recruitment for their surprising drop off this season.

"You should be able to dip into a squad where you've got enough quality," he told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"But if you haven't been doing the business in the transfer windows for a number of seasons, then you don't have that quality.

"I think we've been stripped of quality.

"You look at the fact that we lost players like Nicolas Kuhn and even Adam Idah this season. They've not been sufficiently replaced."

Chasing a sixth Premiership victory in a row, Celtic and their supporters are no strangers to the pressures of a title race.

Dykes is hopeful that Hearts and Rangers' inexperience will see them falter, but lacks the confidence to fully believe his side will win the title.

"Rangers are currently the form team," he added.

"Hearts have been the most consistent team over the season and Celtic have been all over the place. Somehow, Martin O'Neill managed to get some kind of rhythm and fluidity to the team and a bit of belief and some unity.

"But even that has been doubted and questioned over the last couple of weeks.

"Will any of the three sides win the last seven? If you're looking at this season, Celtic, the most consistent we've been is five league games on the bounce. Hearts are six, Rangers are six. So I don't think any of the three teams will win all seven.

"It's just a case of playing players at the moment that you can trust. There's a lot of players in our squad that we simply cannot trust."