Celtic damaging their own reputation as club continue to dig themselves into Dubai-shape hole

Celtic seem to have foolishly ignored the old adage that says when you are in a hole, really best to stop digging.

Celtic's players arrive back from Dubai at Glasgow Airport on Friday. (Photo by Ross MacDonald/SNS Group).

The statement confirming Christopher Jullien’s Covid-19 case, and that as a result manager Neil Lennon, John Kennedy and 13 players will be forced to miss out tonight’s Hibs game and self isolate for 10 days through being judged close contacts engender that thought. It did so through dripping with indignation over the possibility this turn of events just maybe, just even a wee teeny bit, suggests the Dubai winter training camp during a global pandemic was a bad idea...never mind a bad look.

Celtic have been laid low this season by poor judgement calls from top to bottom - and involving all departments - of the club. Dubai might just be the latest, but not even the greatest. And this summation is not a matter of being wise after the event; it wasn’t just politicians but the entire populace - almost - that have been saying so consistently. Long before Jullien’s positive case.

If the list of the rumoured 13 players doing the internet rounds is correct, Celtic will be largely unaffected for the visit of Jack Ross’ men. Not so when it comes to reputational damage. Celtic still appear to be exhibiting a brazen arrogance over their Dubai motivations. As someone said - and to borrow another adage - they haven’t exactly been able to read the room. They said in their statement that they followed all protocols regarding flights mandates, bus transfers and hotel arrangements that have left them covid-free on European game excursions. Furthermore, they pointed out that other clubs have encountered such covid issues on the home front.

All this is as may be. However, any risk assessment of the Dubai trip - both from the flak that was guaranteed to be hurled their way and the fall-out if any players contracted Covid-19 - should have told them it simply wasn’t worth it. The fact that no-one within the club could recognise that and call it off speaks of precisely the sort of fuzzy thinking that has destroyed their 10-in-a-row hopes.

Moreover, there is a certain irony in Jullien, who will be out for four months with a knee ligament problem, being the player to contract the virus. For it has to be asked why he bothered going to a ‘warm weather training camp’ when the pictures of him on crutches suggest he is in no position to train at any location across the world. Had he and his club stayed here, his exposure to the first team would have been limited as he continues his rehabilitation. He certainly wouldn’t have been sharing any flights or buses with them. So the consequences of him testing positive would have been unlikely to afflict another 14 members of staff. Celtic chose to ignore such a conclusion in their statement. Hardly a surprise since there seems to be a growing bunker mentality within the club. Mind you, if only they did really hole themselves up in an hermetically-sealed bubble - in this country - they could have saved themselves an inordinate amount of grief in a campaign when they have enough come their way to last a lifetime.

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