What now for Celtic?

By David Lee Wheatley Twitter @davewh1980

As Glasgow Celtic lurch from one disastrous performance to another under beleaguered new boss Ronny Deila, fans are fearful over what lies ahead for a team deep in transition after Champions' League elimination piled the pressure on the club to find an injection of cash they simply don't have available to them.

Their league season started brightly with convincing wins over St. Johnstone and Dundee United providing an initial healthy outlook to proceedings, while KR Reykjavik were easily disposed of in the second Champions' League qualifying round.

However, the wheels have since hurtled off their campaign alarmingly with the controversial defeat to Legia Warsaw followed by lucky reinstatement into the Champions' League competition, due to the Poles fielding an ineligible player in the dying embers of the second leg when the tie was already completely out of Celtic's reach.

The club were determined to make amends for that shocking 6-1 aggregate loss to Legia by capatilising on their good fortune and advancing beyond Maribor into the group stages. Despite a creditable 1-1 draw in the away first leg making them favourites to advance, the Hoops capitulated at Celtic Park to lose 1-0 on the evening and miss out on an estimated £14m jackpot that would've been theirs had they progressed.

To compound their misery, the green-and-whites have suffered embarrassment in Inverness when falling 1-0 to the current Premiership leaders and then had to come back to force an undeserved draw at home against Dundee either side of that deflating defeat to Maribor. It left observers and supporters alike wondering what the Glasgow giants can do in order to turn the tide.

Financially, they have little room for manoeuvre. Rangers long-term absence from the top-flight has cost Celtic in revenue terms from the disappearance of four guaranteed clashes with their arch-rivals, while television and sponsorship monies total up to a mere pittance in comparison with top European leagues. They will also have to cut their cloth accordingly after forfeiting the Champions' League cash due to devastating elimination.

True, they still have the carat of the Europa League to look forward to, but meetings with Red Bull Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb and FC Astra don't exactly excite and won't generate a great deal of capital for the club's coffers. Celtic would most likely require a run to the semi-finals if they're to have any hope of a decent level of income from the competition and that won't be easy. Indeed, given their poor performances so far under Norwegian Ronny Deila, it appears a near impossible task.

It's early days for Deila, but the omens aren't good and belief in him on the terraces seems very low. His obvious lack of coaching experience at the highest levels of football doesn't inspire confidence, while the daunting nature of the rebuilding job ahead of him would test anybody.

He recently remarked that English-based footballers literally laugh out loud when Celtic put forward their best wage offer to a prospective signing from south of the border and therein lies his biggest problem. Celtic have no money, they are seen by many as a selling club with a conveyor belt of talent flying out of the door every year in order to simply stay afloat and, furthermore, they can't offer Champions' League football to offset the comparitively poor wages on the table.

With the transfer deadline upon them, Celtic could yet see key central defender Virgil van Dijk moving on with several clubs linked with the Dutchman. They've already lost goalkeeper Fraser Forster to Southampton, while a raft of stars have been drained from the squad over a number of seasons without being adequately replaced.

New boys Tonev, Berget and Gordon haven't yet proved they are better than those who've gone before them and so it currently appears that Celtic aren't as strong as they once were. Much more will be expected of them during the coming months, while more recent purchases Wakaso and Scepovic absolutely must hit the ground running.

For Deila, it's a case of unearthing numerous rough diamonds in the transfer market, while hoping to promote excuberant young talent from the development squad who are good enough to prosper within the senior set-up. The one shining light so far this term has been 21-year-old Callum McGregor and the former Stromsgodset manager will be on the look-out for more just like him.

A tricky balancing act leaves Deila facing an uphill journey that will test him and his staff to the very limit of their abilities. He will point to the fact that Stromsgodset battled against relegation in his first two seasons in charge there, prior to a renaissance leading to the league title in 2013.

However, it's unlikely that such patience will prevail allowing him to complete the job if he fails miserably in his first term in Scotland. Time is not on his side and results must improve dramatically if Deila is to at least buy himself the opportunity to mould the team in his own vision.

Ripping it up and starting again is a course of action those at Celtic Park will wish to avoid if at all possible, but they can't stand by forever should matters significantly worsen. All eyes will be firmly fixed on Deila, as he attempts to turnaround a stuttering start to the season and silence the doubters in the process.

@davewh1980