Under-pressure Celtic manager Tony Mowbray can weather the storm from bad results

LIKE the figures in a weather house, Old Firm managers are used to being in and out at different times. Last week, briefly, Tony Mowbray was in vogue again, having seen his Celtic side cut Rangers' lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League to eight points.

But then, no sooner had the clouds parted, came Aberdeen. At just before 2pm, Mowbray's stock remained reasonably high, with Celtic on course to complete a week in which ten goals had been scored in three outings, two of which were away from home. The concession of four goals – two to a First Division side in Dunfermline Athletic – did give some cause for concern, but scoring more than the opposition seems to be the name of Mowbray's game.

The trouble comes when these opponents score the same number – and are allowed to recover from 4-2 down in the final 15 minutes. Mowbray has been cast as a chump again. The head-in-hands images are back. Yesterday's publication of the club's latest set of financial results had many of their fans talking with a hint of gallows humour about broken crests appearing in the pages of certain newspapers.

This time last year Celtic sat clear at the top of the league, and had announced an operating profit of nearly 13million for the second half of 2008. Yet still many of their fans were not happy, and perhaps rightly so: Celtic were soon to let slip their league crown.

Perhaps more damagingly, they relinquished the right to take their place in the group stage of the Champions League. The cost of this failure was made clear in the figures for the equivalent period last year which were published by Celtic yesterday. They revealed the club's turnover had decreased by 23 per cent.

Indeed, more clouds accumulated for Mowbray yesterday with the release of these results. The Mogga effect has not had the impact Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell might have hoped for back in the summer. Mowbray, however, can escape a large proportion of the blame for this. Qualification for the Champions League group stage is a requirement if a club like Celtic are going to publish a set of dynamic financial results.

Mowbray was always up against it after predecessor Gordon Strachan's side failed to gain automatic entry to this monied stage.

Mowbray did as well as was expected, negotiating a tough tie with Dinamo Moscow in the most difficult manner possible. Having lost at home, they then won in the Russian capital. Defeats in both legs of the following qualifying round against Arsenal went with form.

Mowbray has suffered for the failure of others. But he might be cheered were he to pause and reflect on how events unfolded last season. This time last year Strachan's side stood two points clear of Rangers and though a 0-0 draw at Parkhead 12 months ago last weekend kept Rangers within touching distance, many observers believed the champions – with their recent experience of securing titles – would prevail. But turnarounds in fortunes are as much a part of Old Firm life as the constant oneupmanship.

By the end of the month Celtic had been held by Motherwell, and deposited into second place for the first time in the season. Positions were exchanged again and again before the end of the season – Rangers were reckoned to have blown their chances when they slipped 1-0 at home to Inverness Caledonian Thistle in March, and then were held – again at Ibrox – by Hearts in their next league outing. But the Ibrox side found themselves at the top when the music stopped in this game of musical chairs.

Mowbray knows the season has twists and turns to go yet. Even Walter Smith, a veteran of such championship climaxes, stated that this was inevitable after his side's 3-0 win over Hibernian on Sunday. However, the manner in which Rangers secured three points cannot have done much to hearten Mowbray. As some Rangers fans wryly noted: the Celtic manager had reason to be glad on Sunday night, since Hibs' loss made his side's ambition to claim second place seem far more attainable.

Indeed, a look at the league table sees Celtic share more similarities with the teams directly below them than their rivals above. Mowbray's team have lost five games – the same as both Hibs and Dundee United, in fourth place. Somehow, Celtic must put together a run of results which not only eats into Rangers' lead, but also increases the ground between them and those who remain in dogged pursuit behind. It's far from beyond them. A total of 39 points remain to be played for; nearly a third of a season. But the smiles on the faces of the Rangers supporters could be erased as soon as a week on Sunday, when Mowbray takes his side to Ibrox.

Should the ten-point gap which currently separates first from second still stand then a win would bring Celtic back into the hunt, with another Old Firm fixture to come in the east end of Glasgow.

Mowbray's demeanour may be almost routinely downcast these days, but the man whose positive thinking led to him lining the walls of Easter Road with inspiring aphorisms during his time as Hibernian manager is not someone likely to flee from a challenge.