Kieran Devlin says there will be 'conversations' to be had at Christmas if Ange Postecoglou continues to struggle. 

The lowdown

A 4-0 home defeat at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday compounded Postecoglou's misery.

It leaves Celtic point-less after two Europa League matches, and things aren't looking particularly rosy domestically either.

Having followed up a defeat at Livingston with more dropped points against Dundee United, they've slipped to sixth in the Scottish Premiership table, already six points behind reigning champions and archrivals Rangers.

The latest

In The Athletic's fan discussion around the Bayer Leverkusen game, Devlin was asked by a supporter 'at what point... we say Angeball just doesn't work with these players'.

In reply, he urged fans to wait until both first-choice full-backs return from injury 'at the earliest'.

Anthony Ralston's 'limitations' and Adam Montgomery's 'inexperience' are apparently clear at Europa League level.

Josip Juranovic and Greg Taylor are both sidelined at the moment, and 'given the importance of the full-back roles, that's a problem'.

However, he adds that 'if it isn't working by Christmas, you have that conversation'. By that point, the Hoops' injury woes should have abated.

The verdict

It's still too early for Postecoglou's position to really be questioned. He's implementing a change of philosophy, and often that will involve incurring short-term pain in the pursuit of long-term benefits.

The injuries are a pretty significant mitigating factor too, of course, while the massive amount of turnover in the squad this summer has played its part.

Celtic should be viewed as a club in transition right now and, as tough as it may be for a club and fans base so used to winning, expectations ought to be lowered for the time being.

In other news, there's been a transfer development at Celtic Park.