I don’t think there was any other option for Celtic than to sell Moussa Dembele last night.

It is difficult and the problem is not that the French side came in for him, but the timing with which they made their move was always going to give Celtic a headache.

And up until the player threw the toys out of the pram, I was of the opinion that Celtic were right to make their stand.

Part of me still thinks that if it doesn’t suit them to sell a player then they shouldn’t be manipulated into it but at the same time the reality is that when you have a player who calls out the manager the way that Moussa did then there is really no way back from that.

In some ways you feel as though the Moussa Dembele who has been at the club over the last two seasons had already gone.

We haven’t seen this kind of behaviour before and nor have we had any hint of it.

It’s petulant and there’s no doubt you can’t go back from that.

I am not sure where you go once you have crossed a line and I think he was guilty of that with his comments on social media. I am not familiar with Twitter but having heard what was written I just think it puts real pressure on the relationship after that. Doing it publicly wouldn’t be my way and it looks poor.

In my time as both a player and a manger we didn’t have this thing to the same level as we didn’t have the Bosman ruling or the transfer window. But I can imagine how some of the players I worked alongside would have reacted to it.

Dembele’s actions yesterday morning at Lennoxtown would definitely have cast a bit of a shadow over training and let’s be honest, on the weekend of a game against Rangers you could do without it. But now the focus needs to be on Sunday. It’s huge for Celtic. Every game against the Ibrox side is the biggest game against them.

But the difference between tomorrow’s game against Steven Gerrard’s team for Brendan Rodgers is that it is the biggest test he has had against the Ibrox side since he took over at Celtic. Regardless of how you play things down after the game, the bottom line is that if you win this game it definitely does put down a marker.

I don’t think there is any doubt just how difficult a month it has been for Celtic.

For the first time since Rodgers arrived we have had negativity and an indication that there has been unrest and disharmony behind the scenes.

Dembele and Dedryck Boyata contributed to that as did the whole transfer window.

It’s been a difficult month between that and the Champions League exit and you need a big performance now against Rangers tomorrow afternoon.

Regardless of whether it puts down a marker or not, ultimately you need to win these games.

They are the ones that the supporters look to and in light of recent events you can lift the place again with a positive performance and result.

We can all see that Celtic didn’t get everything they wanted in the transfer window. There has been a bit of discord around the club because of that but there comes a point now, with the window closed, when there is nothing else to do but get on with it.

I think they are still short of a couple of signings despite the addition of Filip Benkovic and Youssouf Mulumbu.

They have been brought in and certainly the cover in central defence has been necessary.

Benkovic is young but with a transfer fee of £13m from Leicester then you would think that he will bring a bit of quality into the backline.

It isn’t everything that you would have wanted in the window but ultimately now it is about doing your talking on the park.

There is an eighth successive title to aim for and all eyes now need to be on the bigger picture as the club try to steer their way out of what has been the most turbulent time for a while.