The signing of Robbie Keane and seven other new players in the January window raised hopes and expectation among the Celtic support.

But it did not eradicate the doubts over their ability to catch Rangers in the title race.

The opportunity to build on the momentum generated by the midnight arrival of Robbie on Monday was lost within 24 hours when Tony Mowbray’s side lost 1-0 to Kilmarnock.

The signing was a coup, but the benefit was thrown away almost immediately.

I have to admit, even I, with all my experience in the game, got caught up in excitement of Robbie’s signing.

The board deserve credit for giving approval for it to go ahead. I just wish the directors who were there when I was manager had sanctioned the signings I requested, and that was from a position of relative strength.

Now, after losing to Killie, Celtic are 10 points behind Rangers with just 15 games remaining.

That means they could win all of their remaining games – and still not be champions. Could you imagine how badly that would be received?

I commend Tony for making the changes. I said he had to put his stamp on the side. But you have got to be very careful about exactly when you bring so many players into your squad.

I appreciate circumstances can often dictate the timing, and Robbie is a case in point because he had other offers to weigh up before he finally committed to coming to Parkhead.

His arrival was all a bit showbizzy, with the midnight run to Celtic Park from the airport.

A few hours before, the club had unveiled Diomansy Kamara and Edson Braafheid as loan signings, and it looked like a very good ending to the transfer window. But it’s always best to get players in as early as possible, and look at the points Celtic dropped since the window opened on January 1.

Rangers are now heading towards a treble and the one thing you can say about them, for all their problems away from the pitch, is they go about their business on the park in a professional manner.

As Celtic were bringing in a whole host of new players, Rangers keep going with the same group, minus Pedro Mendes.

Of course, it could all have looked so different today had Celtic brought the deficit in the table down to seven points by winning at Rugby Park.

The weight of expectation was on Robbie’s shoulders, but he could not provide the answer to the question of why they have struggled in front of goal this season.

This is not hindsight, but I thought he would start on the bench, given the fact his signing went on into the wee small hours.

With Morten Rasmussen still on a high having opened his account at Hamilton on Saturday, there did not seem to be any reason why Robbie and Diomansy had to start at Kilmarnock.

I was also perplexed by the introduction of Scott Brown at left-back as Celtic chased the game, but that’s another matter.

Tony has elected to make so many changes in mid-season, and I have no doubt the team will improve as they settle in.

But the challenge is to keep on winning while this happens, which is why the summer is always the best time to rebuild the side, as Martin O’Neill did when he arrived in 2000.

The surgery has certainly been drastic, with almost as many players leaving in the last four weeks as have come in.

I’ve done some rough sums, and reckon Celtic have made a profit from their transfer dealings last month. Not a bad bit of business when the impression most people have is that they have actually spent a few quid.

The last to go was Scott McDonald, and, from a financial point of view, the £3.5million sale to Middlesbrough makes sense as it balances the books.

But would he have been worth any less five months from now? And, while Robbie and the other new lads look like they will be able to bring goals, Scott had already shown he can do it at this level.

Tony has certainly made a statement by his actions. It would appear he made up his mind months ago about a lot of the players he inherited, and this was the first opportunity to move out many of them.

Some of the club’s most influential characters have gone, and it up to the new arrivals to take over.

If they can win games, and, more importantly, trophies, it will have been a good move. If they don’t...

Caley cast-up inevitable but no repeat this time...

It was inevitable that reminders of Celtic’s Scottish Cup defeat to Inverness Caley Thistle would surface as Tony Mowbray’s men head for Dunfermline this weekend.

It’s not just that it’s 10 years almost to the day since that shock exit.

The fact Celtic are trailing in the table in Tony Mowbray’s first season will ensure many people tune into Sunday’s game at East End Park expecting an upset.

But I’m sure they are going to be disappointed because I just can’t see Celtic losing this cup tie.

Dunfermline might feel Celtic are vulnerable, given their results against teams like Falkirk and Kilmarnock.

And it is a case of heading into the unknown for many of the players Tony will pick this weekend.

But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, and I honestly can’t see them being part of another Celtic cup shock.

The Scottish Cup is now their best chance of a trophy this season, and, as such, Tony will not treat any tie lightly.

I know from my time in charge of the club how important it is to collect at least one trophy in your first season.

I did not manage this, and there was no doubt it adds significantly to the pressure on you when you start the next season.

They have already been knocked out of the Co-operative Cup by losing at home to Hearts.

The Tynecastle side would have thought they could go all the way, but they lost their semi-final against St Mirren.

And I’d like to take the opportunity to congratulate my former club on reaching the final against Rangers.

St Mirren was the team I supported as a kid, and it’s great to see Gus McPherson taking his side to such a big game, especially when you consider the limited resources he has at his disposal.

Leading question could be answered by Keane

Glenn Loovens was the surprise choice to lead out Celtic at Kilmarnock on Tuesday.

Scott Brown then came and took the armband off the Dutchman, which raised even more eyebrows.

Tony Mowbray has since said he will talk to a few players about the captaincy, but reiterated it really does not concern him too much who gets the job.

I agree with him that it’s more important to have leaders than a leader.

But following in the footsteps of men such as Billy McNeill is still a big responsibility which doesn’t sit easily with everyone.

Stephen McManus looked to be made for it. But, with him sent to Middlesbrough on loan, someone has to take over.

Tony has hinted that he believes the responsibility might help Scott Brown grow, but I’m not so sure.

Robbie Keane is used to the job, having done it at Spurs and with the Republic of Ireland, and he instantly commands respect.

Who knows, being made captain might even encourage him to consider staying here beyond his loan.

Aid rest might be for best

When he’s on his game, Aiden McGeady is one of Celtic’s best players. But it’s some time since we have seen him at his best.

If a team is winning, you can afford to allow someone the chance to play their way through a sticky patch.

But, if you are not getting the results you need, his contribution is highlighted more.

It’s sometimes better to take a guy out of the firing line, put your arm around his shoulder, and tell him to take a break until he can go again.

With Aiden’s suspension coming up in a couple of weeks, he will be forced to step of the team.

But Tony needs to think how he can get him back to his very best in the shortest possible time, and certainly for the game at Ibrox at the end of the month.