CELTIC manager Brendan Rodgers has hinted at the need for creative and quality additions to his squad after Sunday's uninspiring 0-0 draw at Ibrox.
Despite their league dominance, the Hoops have now gone four games without a win against their city rivals for the first time in 17 years.
Speaking to Celtic TV after the game, Rodgers suggested he wanted to bring in more players before Monday's transfer deadline, saying 'the creative side is nowhere near where I'd expect a Celtic team to be', but also conceded the performance wasn't good enough.
"Lots of it sadly is down to player profile because you miss players at the top end of the pitch that can create things for you," he told Celtic TV.
"They're the guys that give the confidence to the rest of the team.
"When you've got goalscorers and real quality in your team it gives everyone a boost because you know you can go into any stadium and score goals.
"For us, that's not quite been the way and then everything becomes a little bit hesitant, it comes back at you a little bit quicker than it normally does.
"I just think there are multiple reasons for that but still we have to play better."
Quality lacking
Rodgers was certainly right on that last point.
Celtic had to wait until the hour mark for their first shot on target and won their first corner 10 minutes later.
Unsurprisingly, in a game of little quality, neither came to anything.
They ended the game with two shots on target, which was at least two more than Rangers mustered.
The visitors had looked marginally better in the opening exchanges without creating anything of note, with both sides perhaps looking to avoid conceding early after their embarrassing European exits this week.
However, Rangers grew into the game and thought they had taken the lead on 32 minutes only for John Souttar's header to be ruled offside.
Celtic fans will argue justice was served as the free kick from which the goal was scored was harsh, however, Kasper Schmeichel will be the most relieved that it was ruled out after finding himself in no man's land when the ball came in from James Tavernier.
Rangers finished the half strongly with a string of free kicks and set pieces into the Celtic box, while Celtic — who saw a promising move break down after debutant Michel-Ange Balikwisha was harshly adjudged to have fouled Tavernier — finished with an expected goals tally of zero.
Reo Hatate with Celtic's first shot on target after an hour — one of only two shots on target from both sides in the entire game (Image: Craig Williamson / SNS Group via Getty Images)Celtic were brighter in the second half — they could barely have been any worse — but lacked any end product and looked short of creativity and ideas up front.
Meanwhile, Rangers looked threatening on the break, with Liam Scales doing well to cut out a dangerous cross into the box from Djeidi Gassama.
Hatate had the game's first shot on target after 60 minutes, his long-range effort routinely smothered by Jack Butland.
Bojan Miovski then attempted to set up Mikey Moore when he probably should have had a go himself, before Kieran Tierney tried an audacious overhead kick that failed to trouble Butland.
That was as good as it got as the game petered out, a result and performance that was probably predictable considering the flat fare served up by both sides midweek.
While Rangers probably need the win more, the result gives Russell Martin a first domestic clean sheet of the season.
For Celtic, it maintains their unbeaten start to the league and their six-point lead over Rangers but continues a mediocre run of results against their city rivals, having last beaten them in the league in the first derby of last season.
'Poor game'
Rodgers tried to sift through the dross for the positives from a game that both clubs' respective domestic form at least says should be less of a challenge for Celtic than it has become of late.
"The positive would be that we kept a clean sheet," he told Celtic TV.
"Over the course of this early part of the season, we haven't given much away and today I don't think we'd a shot against us on goal.
"It shows you the team are working, and working very, very hard but the creative side is nowhere near where I'd expect a Celtic team to be.
"It was a poor game in relation to quality, disappointing in terms of that aspect but we leave here with a point and with a big 24 hours ahead."
Celtic are linked with a move for Anderlecht striker Kasper Dolberg but on Sunday's showing, when so many key players failed to have an impact, you feel it'll take more than the Danish striker's arrival to drastically improve the team's performances.
