Celtic are trapped in no man’s land however their strategy in Dortmund was insanity and it can not keep on like this, writes STEPHEN McGOWAN

Celtic’s newest Champions League calamity provides one other excuse to paraphrase an previous quote on the definition of insanity.

Relating to establishing groups within the Champions League, Brendan Rodgers is making a behavior of doing the identical issues again and again. Defying the rising physique of proof that it doesn’t work, he expects a distinct end result each time.

Over the Northern Irishman’s two spells in cost, the Scottish champions have now misplaced seven objectives thrice in opposition to Europe’s elite.

There was that thrashing in Barcelona, then one other in Paris earlier than they misplaced six in Madrid final season. Throw in a 5 in opposition to a PSG first time round and the argument for a extra pragmatic strategy turns into an open and shut case.

Publicly urged to point out extra braveness within the switch window, Celtic’s board responded by shattering the membership’s file payment twice to signal Adam Idah and Arne Engels throughout the summer time.

In return for shifting their strategy in the direction of competing in Europe, administrators are entitled to anticipate the identical of the supervisor.

For this group of gamers, a stuffy defeat on international soil would signify progress. After a 5-1 win over Slovan Bratislava on the opening night time, there was a suitable approach to lose to a Dortmund workforce performing on a distinct degree and a seven-goal mauling wasn’t it.

Rodgers is entitled to ask if the gamers are a much bigger concern than the ways. Confronted by superior gamers, even essentially the most pragmatic groups lose video games whereas Cameron Carter-Vickers, the strongest defender, has developed an unlucky behavior of breaking down the minute he hears the soundcheck for the Champions League theme tune.

Spending £6million doesn’t purchase a lot at this degree and the efficiency of substitute Auston Trusty in Dortmund proved it.

Welcomed again to the renamed Westfalenstadion for the assembly of his previous golf equipment, Murdo MacLeod left a Celtic facet famend for leaking objectives like a sieve to make his transfer to Germany again within the late 80s.

Even permitting for the seismic adjustments within the trendy recreation, MacLeod and co by no means misplaced seven objectives in Europe. In distinction, a number of the gamers within the present facet have now executed it thrice.

Rightly, captain Callum McGregor refused to hunt refuge in excuses. Of their final seven away video games in opposition to Europe’s elite golf equipment, Celtic have now shipped 26 objectives. Nearly 4 a recreation, they’ll’t keep on like this.

It stood to motive that the Sign Iduna Park supplied a extra formidable problem than McDiarmid Park and lining up as in the event that they have been going through St Johnstone was a triumph for hope over actuality.

Play the identical 4-3-3 formation and press in opposition to Europa League winners Atalanta in Bergamo subsequent trip and additional humiliation appears seemingly.

Trapped in a no man’s land, the cash Celtic rake in for his or her annual spankings within the Champions League is greater than sufficient to lord it over home rivals within the SPFL and nowhere close to sufficient to go toe to toe with the very best groups in Europe.

Confronted by this inconvenient reality, it’s the supervisor’s job to seek out the center floor between the all-out assault which blows groups within the Scottish Premiership away and the pragmatism required to stem the move of blood in Europe in opposition to higher resourced groups.

Whereas the lack of seven objectives makes no tangible distinction to hopes of reaching the play-off spherical as one of many prime 24 groups within the new one league format, it does torpedo the notion that this Celtic workforce is markedly completely different to the others thrashed on international soil beneath Rodgers. A change of strategy is perhaps the one approach to discover out in the event that they ever can be.