The atmosphere on European nights at Celtic Park had become world famous - until this season
18:00, 31 Jan 2026
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Visitng fans used to taunt Arsenal fans by chanting their old Highbury was so quiet it was like a library. Celtic Park the other night was more like a mortuary.
It should have been one of the great European nights. Celtic needed a win to qualify for the Europa League knockout stages and were three up against Utrecht inside 20 minutes.
The place should have been bouncing. Instead it made the Mitchell Library look like an underground rave. And that’s what should have sent much more of a message to the Parkhead board than any pitch for protest in the stands.
Even when Utrecht surprised themselves by getting back to 3-2. That was when the stadium should have raised the decibel levels, should have encouraged a clearly knackered team to dig deep to get over the line. Instead there were a few murmurs and a collective shrug.
It was a sign of the times – and a sign of the complete breakdown between a football club and its support. And it’s helping no one.
Celtic are at the bickering husband and wife stage. You could be sitting on the couch watching a banger of a box set but the Mrs moans at you for breathing too loudly.
The Celtic board have made too many mistakes to list again over the last 12 months but now they are at the can’t do anything right stage of the relationship. And, unfortunately for them, there’s no kind of football marriage counselling available to sort this out.
They have to claw their own way back into the good books. They at least have to try, because the rest of the season and beyond is at stake here, and if they are not careful this situation could become broken beyond repair.
There are season tickets to be sold for next season, new fancy strips to be flogged and players needing to be persuaded to come.
Celtic Park and its atmosphere has been a major selling point over the years – especially the big European nights.
Celtic celebrate Auston Trusty's fourth goal
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Celtic celebrate Auston Trusty's fourth goal(Image: Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock)
This place is sold on being Paradise. Right now it’s Purgatory. The ongoing dispute with sections of the support is causing major damage to all parties.
Undoubtedly the Green Brigade ultras group need the occasional slap on the wrists to keep them in line – and a lot of other punters would agree.
But remaining on the naughty step for so long is only adding to the discontent elsewhere. And it has certainly nuked the atmosphere in the stadium.
Thursday summed it up. Dutch fans spent all day in the Glasgow boozers and made the majority of the din in the ground, despite their team being seven shades of shambles and having nothing to play for.
That’s why the suits in the directors box should have been taking notes.
They have the power to do something about all this. Fans are a fickle bunch at the best of times.
And there’s actually an opportunity to achieve some short term wins to start turning this around.
They have a genuine club legend in charge for a start and there is still a chance Martin O’Neill can win another league title.
It would be an epic story. Yet right now, the Parkhead board are asking the hero to smash it out with a couple of keys missing from the typewriter.
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To have so much dosh in the bank but going into the final couple of days in the transfer window having not spent a bean seems bonkers.
There’s safeguarding the future – but not by jeopardising the present.
Celtic need to get the fans back on board, inject some cash and some fun back into the place and breathe life in to a campaign that doesn’t have to end up a corpse on the mortuary slab.