Chris Sutton has questioned Celtic fans who are putting domestic bliss over strides in Europe.
The former Celtic striker believes Rodgers prioritised the League Cup semi-final over the Europe League last month and he can’t quite understand it.
Sutton’s mentality makes sense, but it’s also armchair management style punditry.
I’d love us to be strong in Europe. I’d love to see us win our games against the Germans, Austrians, Spanish, Italians and whoever else we play. But herein lies an important point: we struggle for depth.
A few injuries knock us wayward – our defence was down to Hendry and Boyata, they were playing every single game. We’ve got a plethora of midfielders, but only two dedicated strikers.
Our record signing is £9m. Let’s compare for a moment then.
We face teams from England who spend £9m to fill their numbers or work on a future prospect. We face teams from around the world who command ridiculous riches, squad depth and individual talents. We will always struggle to compete with them until we can get on similar financial grounds.
Look across the city – the Govan mob have done better in Europe than their previous attempts, but their domestic record is shocking. They’ll be out of Europe soon enough, and then they’ll have no cups to polish and 5th place to languish.
Part of the game HAS to start at home – everyone else around us has raised their game, and it’s made it difficult to build momentum for the big European nights.
I half agree with Sutton, but he needs to remember that we’re always on a shaky rope in Europe because of the sheer gulf in cash alone between us and other clubs.
Rory Kenneth McCartney Beck
