CELTIC boss Martin O'Neill has said his side didn't compete strongly enough as they lost 2-0 away to Dundee United to stay five points adrift of leaders Hearts.
The Terrors were deserved winners against the toothless visitors, who never really looked like beating Alex Maynard-Brewer save for one scare when the keeper spilled a Reo Hatate shot.
The result means Celtic have lost eight league games in a season for the first time in 26 years, having lost nine in the 1999/00 campaign.
Never mind a title challenge — they now need to pick up 16 points from the last 21 on offer to avoid ending the season with a worse tally than in Neil Lennon's final campaign in 2020/21, when they finished 25 points behind Rangers.
Even that Celtic side managed to only lose five league games that season.
"The disappointment was — and it's something that you wouldn't level at this team — is that I don't think we competed strongly enough," O'Neill told Celtic TV after the game.
The manager may have felt the performance was an outlier but a result like this has been brewing.
Faltering season
O'Neill took charge of Celtic for his first spell after that aforementioned 1999/00 season, spearheading the transformation of Celtic into a side that would dominate Scottish football for most of the next 25 years.
However, having impressed either side of Wilfried Nancy's reign, there is only so much the Co. Derry man can do with the current squad, which is short on quality and hampered by injuries.
He has managed to eke out results over his two spells but it has felt as though he is over-performing with the players at his disposal.
What is even more disappointing is that the situation the club now finds itself in is largely one of its own making.
With more than £70m in the bank, today's starting XI comprised a loanee, two homegrown players, two players signed on free transfers and six players bought for a combined total of less than €9m, according to Transfermarkt.
Celtic fans make their feelings heard to the Celtic board during the defeat to Dundee United (Image: Craig Foy / SNS Group via Getty Images)In fairness, Celtic have largely been without the influential trio of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Jota and Alistair Johnston this season, while record signing Arne Engels has also missed the last nine games with injury but the lack of planning for such setbacks is a concern.
It could also be argued that a weakened Celtic side assembled for €9m should still be capable of beating Dundee United but that would do a disservice to the Terrors, who were full value for their win.
Despite O'Neill's suggestion that the lack of fight today was atypical of his side, the recent injury-time winners against Livingston and Kilmarnock, as well as late equalisers against Dundee and Rangers, have papered over the cracks as much as they have epitomised resilience.
So too did the Scottish Cup quarter-final shootout victory over Rangers two weeks ago, when Celtic failed to muster a shot during the previous 120 minutes.
However, a humbling defeat never felt too far away and the shortcomings of the squad were exposed by the Tangerines this afternoon.
Ultimately, the surprise wasn't that Celtic lost to Dundee United but that they managed to stay in the title race until now.
'Disappointing'
Of course, there are still seven games to go and Celtic will face both Hearts and Rangers at home but this defeat felt decisive.
Again, the lack of threat was evident with the Hoops managing just one shot on target in the first half.
Just six minutes into the second and they trailed after Vicko Ševelj robbed Hatate in midfield.
The ball was worked to Luca Stephenson on the right, whose low cross evaded everyone in a crowded box, allowing Will Ferry to steer home.
Hatate almost made amends after 63 minutes when his speculative effort from the edge of the box slipped through Maynard-Brewer's hands and bounced off the post and the goal line before the keeper gathered.
However, United doubled their lead moments later when Max Watters' effort rebounded nicely into the path of Emmanuel Agyei, who blasted home from the edge of the box.
"I thought in the first half we seemed to have plenty of possession, camped outside their penalty area for little spells and not able to penetrate, I think that's the major thing," O'Neill told Celtic TV.
"The second half, the game just got away from us.
"Obviously, the first goal in conditions like this was going to be vital and we conceded and it just fell away.
"That's the disappointing thing because this side has, in the last few months, battled and battled and battled and come through adversity in many aspects but today the second half was really disappointing."
The manager added that he now faced a period of introspection and hoped the players could get the defeat out of their system during the international break.
"The international players disappear, they go away so hopefully they come back unscathed and ready to go," he said.
"The other players who are not internationals, they've got a few days now, so it's a matter of just getting heads right, certainly think about it and obviously have a look at the game and see where we can improve."
When the Hoops do come back after the international break, they face a return to the City of Discovery on April 5 to play Dundee, who have already beaten Celtic at Dens Park this season.
The following week they host St Mirren, victors over Celtic in the League Cup Final, before the league splits.
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