Brown injury makes Celtic's task against Ajax even harder

The news that the skipper is facing up to three months on the sidelines with a knee injury is a massive blow to Celtic and it really does complicate matters hugely this evening. I do wonder, though, whether or not it might just give Ronny Deila a reason to re-jig his favoured shape and change things around a little.

The fact that he is going into the game without three of his first-choice midfielders means that whatever he goes with, it is a relatively untried combination. Ironically, at the start of the season you would have pointed to the middle of the park being the area where Celtic had the most strength in depth – it just goes to show how quickly things can change.

Most certainly, Charlie Mulgrew – who has not played a first-team game since the beginning of September when he was injured before the weekend before first game against Ajax in the Europa League – will be drafted back into the starting line-up.

I think that is a necessity and I also think that the lad has enough experience at this level to get him through the game. Given the lack of experienced and reliable bodies now, Charlie is a genuine option to come back. He is a naturally fit guy and I think you could get an hour or so out of him at least if the decision was made to throw him back into it.

But while the injury situation is an unquestionable hindrance for Celtic, their task remains the same- they must produce a performance that is head and shoulders above the way the played in the double header against Molde.

To be honest, if you were to examine Celtic’s recent European games then you wouldn’t feel entirely confident backing them to beat Ajax tonight – no matter who was in the team.

But we all know that football doesn’t entirely work that way. The guys who are going into tonight’s game need to show they can step up a bit now simply because they have to. Celtic have no option but to go into the game believing that they can do it, but there is a big difference between believing that you can do it and actually going out and doing it.

There have been obvious failures where the European games have been concerned this season – the lack of tempo and intensity in the play and the very apparent slackness – and that is me being kind – at the back.

It is such an important game and not just because Celtic need to win to maintain their hope of getting out of the group.

Peter Lawwell and Ian Bankier, the Celtic chief executive and the Celtic chairman, gave Deila commendable amount of public backing at last week’s AGM, but another limp display, like the one we saw in the second half against Molde, will see the finger pointed at the manager again.

It is not just that there is a clamour for a victory to sustain their hopes in Europe but also that there must be evidence of a significant improvement in the performance.

The Norwegian has done very well domestically since he arrived at the club to take over from Neil Lennon but these two games against Molde have given people cause to come to very different viewpoint about Celtic’s progression than what it might have been a few months ago.

He desperately needs to oversee a big performance tonight because it really is a massive test for him.

There are doubts in people’s minds and the performance must be so much better than it was for that last 45 minutes against Molde. There was an alarming lack of any kind of spirit at all in that performance and Celtic Park was also very quiet.

Granted, it was a Europa League game and not a UEFA Champions League game but the ground had nothing to get them going. Kieran Tierney has not let anyone down when he has played in these games and it will be interesting to see if the teenager is brought back to the fore for this one.

But, all talk of tactics and who plays where is, in my opinion and irrelevance if you do not have the right mindset as you go into the game.

It is vital that you start in the right way. Celtic actually started the games against Malmo, Fenerbahce and Molde well enough but the big problem when they went behind against Molde was there seemed no real desire to get back into it.

When they scored the two early goals against the Norwegians – both were given for offside – you felt that they were capable of going out and taking the game to Molde. But in that second half, there was just nothing.

You have to expect too, that for all Molde are top of the group, Ajax are a team of considerable pedigree and judging by the way they have gone about their domestic business this season, will be a tougher proposition at Celtic Park than Molde were.

Board out of step on Livingston issue

In the light of Celtic’s AGM last week, I have to say this.

There is nothing wrong with being a Tory peer and sitting on the Celtic board. That is fine.

But I do think that if you are a Celtic director then you cannot vote the way Lord Livingston did in the House of Lords when it came to the vote about Working Tax Credits.

I simply don’t buy his reasoning that he voted the way he did because he didn’t agree that the House of Lords should be voting on such issues. If you sit on the Celtic board then you have to understand that you are representative of a certain element of the population that will be directly affected by such cuts.

The best thing he could have done, if possible, would have been to abstain from voting if he did not want to vote against the cuts.

I can understand why Ian Bankier was so defensive of him. He is the Celtic chairman and he has to defend a fellow board member, but you have to also appreciate that this sense of anger is not confined to a small minority of Celtic fans – it represents a broad spectrum of the club support.

I think on the whole the Celtic board has been fairly au fait with the supporters but in this instance I do think they stand to be criticised for being out of step with the feeling among the fans because so many are up in arms about this – and rightly so.

I do have to say that I thought the abuse Lord Livingston got on social media was despicable and you simply cannot condone that. Some of the personal attacks on him where way out of line but I do think that there was a real conflict of interest when he cast his vote in the House of Lords the way he did and I can fully understand the anger is has given rise to.

As for the Living wage issue, Celtic, I think feel aggrieved that they are being singled out in a way that other clubs are not.

That they pay the living wage at the minute to their full-time, permanent staff is the way it should be – and that should be extended to accommodate anyone who works there.

Question for Davie

Will it ever be within Celtic’s reach to make it to the group stages of the UEFA Champions League again?

Yes, of course it will. Celtic will always be expected to live with the likes of Malmo, Legia Warsaw and Maribor. They can certainly make it back into that environment but the difficulty comes in trying to achieve it at such an early stage of the season.

Playing match in US is a non-starter

There has been a lot of talk this week about the possibility of Celtic playing Dundee in a league game in the states.

First of all, I think it is commendable that there are people trying to generate interest in the game and raise awareness of the league but I simply cannot see that it will actually come to fruition.

The one game, however, that would generate massive publicity is a Celtic v Rangers game in either the USA or in Australia, although there may be a consideration necessary for those who reside there as they may not welcome some of the elements that would go with it.

But, in all honestly I suspect that what will remain for Celtic in terms of playing games overseas is pre-season friendlies. That is where there is some money for them in the summer but I just don’t see how viable a league games between Dundee and Celtic would be in America.

The English Premiership is arguably the most marketable league in the world and even then you would have to say that it would be highly unlikely that they would get the appropriate permission to take a league game to another country.

It would also open the door for every other league to try and do the same thing and I just don’t think that is something that would be approved by the various governing bodies.

Playing a glamour friendly abroad is one thing, but I just can’t see where a standard league game would fi