Senior player must be axed: Three things learned from Celtic loss against Anderlecht
COMMENT
Celtic's Champions League campaign ended in disappointment as the Hoops fell to a 1-0 defeat to Anderlecht in Glasgow on Tuesday night.
The Bhoys needed to avoid a four goal loss to qualify for the last 32 of the Europa League and this target was achieved, but the performance in the game was very poor.
The Hoops seem paralysed by fear as Anderlecht passed the ball around with style, you would never know they had no points in the Champions League up to this point.
Brendan Rodgers made two changes at half-time and the performance improved in the second-half, but a Jozo Simunovic own goal was enough to win the match for the Belgian side.
The Hoops will have to up their game dramatically or their Europa League stay after Christmas will be a very short one with some tough names in the draw.
Here Football Insider looks at the three most significant things we learned from Tuesday night's chastening experience for the Bhoys
Click 'reveal' below to read about a player who is a shadow of the man he was...Stuart Armstrong must be axed
Midfielder Stuart Armstrong was a huge player for the Hoops last season, scoring 17 goals and being nominated for player of the year.
This season is a completely different story, as perhaps influenced by his contract issues in the summer his form has dropped off completely with an insipid first-half performance against Anderlecht.
It was no surprise to see him taken off at half-time to be replaced by Olivier Ntcham and Rodgers must take the bold decision to axe the senior player from his first-team plans in the near future.
Click 'next page' below to read about a rare success story against Anderlecht...
Olivier Ntcham can be the man
Ntcham replaced Armstrong at half-time and was at the heart of Celtic's improved performance in the second-half of the game.
It was a surprise to see the summer signing dropped from the starting line-up as he has been one of the few players to be an unqualified success in the Champions League campaign.
Despite Celtic's plethora of midfielders, he deserves a run in the side beginning with the next Scottish Premiership game against Hibs.
Armstrong should make way for him.
Click 'next page' to read about the end of 'fortress Parkhead'...Home form needs to improve dramatically
Celtic's last three Champions League campaigns have seen the Hoops fail to win a single match at home. The lone win this season was picked up in Belgium against Anderlecht.
The basis of the successful Champions League campaigns under Gordon Strachan and Neil Lennon was the home form of the Bhoys, but with that gone so has any chance of qualification to the later stages of the competition.
This has to be rectified if possible for the last 32 game of the Europa League next year but that will no doubt depend on who they draw for the knock-out competition.
In other Celtic news, Chris Sutton wasn't impressed with the Hoops performance against Anderlecht
We’ve launched a << BREAKING NEWS FEED>> exclusively for your club. ‘Like Us’ on Facebook by clicking here if you want 24/7 updates on all Celtic breaking news.