The next month is shaping up to be one of the biggest in Celtic’s season now.

Tomorrow’s game against Hearts at Murrayfield was always going to be huge for Celtic, regardless of what happened in Germany on Thursday night.

But I do think there is extra weight on the game now given the manner of the defeat to Leipzig in the Europa League.

Celtic have shown a few chinks in their armour this season and Hearts will look to manipulate that as best they can at Murrayfield.

Since the arrival of Brendan Rodgers at the club, no-one has laid a glove on Celtic in a domestic sense.

This is the first big threat to the three trophies that sit in the cabinet and as such Celtic will not want to offer anyone the slightest bit of encouragement that they are prepared to relinquish their domestic grip.

But I also have to say that I found it very difficult to see any positives in the performance against Leipzig the other night.

You know full well that if you are going to play Hearts then there will be a physical element to the game that you need to be ready for and what I found concerning against the Bundesliga side the other night was just how insipid Celtic were.

There was a real lack of stomach for the game, for rolling up the sleeves and getting on with it.

They have to be able to shake that off and get going if they are to book their place in the first final of the season tomorrow afternoon.

I don’t think that the Europa League campaign is dead by any means. There is still every chance that Celtic can get a grip of the group and get that second spot if they beat Leipzig in Glasgow but what is particularly frustrating is that Leipizg was similar to Salzburg and similar to AEK Athens - they are decent teams with good players. They are well organised and have a lot of energy but for me they were teams that Celtic really ought to be matching.

I didn’t watch any of those teams and think that they were exceptional or were a level above Celtic.

Which makes the sloppy, soft goals conceded particularly frustrating.

The first one came from a basic cross into the box.

There is just no way that should end up in the back of the net.

And I know that there were a few late chances with Olivier Ntcham going through and Callum McGregor lifting one just over the bar but I just felt that the performance as a whole was flat.

And on the back of very strong displays against St Johnstone and Hibs I had expected better.

There is little to do now but study the game ahead of the return leg in Glasgow which Celtic now need to win.

The one thing that you would say that may offer some optimism ahead of that tie is that Celtic are an entirely different team on home soil than they are away from home when it comes to European football.

With the backing of the crowd and the knowledge that they need to take something from the game then you would expect them to be able to go out and do something.

And by that stage too they may have a few bodies back to full fitness which would help them out as well.

I don’t think you can point to Scott Brown’s absence against Leipzig and say that it would have been different had he been in the team because he’s been there when it has been poor on Celtic’s travels.

And that is the thing - it is a collective.

The malaise when they go away from home goes all the way through the team from front to back. It is not even the defeats but the manner of them. There is a real lethargy about the performances and there seems to be a lack of belief throughout the team.

Between now and the Group B game against Leipzig in Glasgow, Celtic need to make sure they are back on the right track.