HOOPS MUST FIND SOME COURAGE UNDER FIRE

Ralston can see his team lack bravery in final third

- By Michael Gannon

THERE haven’t been many buckles swashed of late at Celtic. The free-flowing football of the past has run so dry it’s a plumber who should have been top of the transfer window wishlist.

The self-appointed great entertainers have become a bit, well, boring.

Brendan Rodgers can see it. Supporters certainly can see it, and the players can also sense it.

Celtic has lost their fizz of late and the manager is hoping some new faces can help rediscover the team’s mojo.

He’s banking on it, in fact.

Otherwise this season will be a heck of a long slog, if Sunday and the Kairat carry-on is anything to go by.

The lack of creativity in the miserable Champions League playoff clashes with the Kazakhs and then one of the worst derbies — or matches even — in recent memory was brutally on show.

Rodgers insisted the flair vacuum was a player problem. Fans are concerned it’s part of a wider performance problem.

But the lack of a cutting edge is something the current squad are determined to sort out - and sharpish.

Right-back Anthony Ralston said: “We demand a lot of each other and we need to demand more in terms of creating those chances.