Yes, says Scott Mullen

The rant from Chris Sutton live on television just minutes after last week’s defeat to Ajax hit the nail on the head. The former Parkhead forward spoke passionately about the demise of the Celtic squad and the fact that the club were culpable for not reinvesting in their playing staff.

There would have been thousands of supporters feeling exactly the same way. Over the course of this Europa League campaign this current group have been found out to be not good enough at this level. To expect them to get into the Champions League and compete is simply unrealistic.

Celtic need at least three quality players to get them fit for purpose to play in Europe’s top competition. In my opinion, a commanding centre-half, a creative midfield and an effective target man to provide a realistic alternative for Leigh Griffiths must be sought out. A central defender should be top of the Christmas wish list to slot in beside Jozo Simunovic.

At last month’s AGM, Peter Lawwell gave a strong backing to Ronny Deila, insisting that the Norwegian will continue to get the club’s continued support. At that point of course Celtic had not been dumped out of the Europa League, but they were not far off it, so there shouldn’t be much of a change in opinion following last Thursday’s disappointment.

With that in mind, and going on the assumption Deila will be the man entrusted in getting his team into the Champions League next summer at the third time of asking, preparations must begin now to make sure they are as ready as they possibly can be. Given how early Celtic will start their qualifying rounds next year, they cannot afford to leave it late to throw a team together or wait for a last-minute bargain. This squad must be well-drilled and prepared before the last ball of this season is kicked. That is reality faced by the Deila.

Domestic success is expected, enjoyed and appreciated, but another failure in Europe next term will surely not be acceptable. If Celtic are to stand by their manager, that must include getting their cheque book out and allowing him to spend in this January window.

No, says Graeme McGarry

John Collins may have been deflecting attention away from his own side's shortcomings when he brought Rangers' plight into the inquest after Celtic's European exit, but the point he made about Celtic not wasting money on players they can't afford stands up.

With Celtic bowing out of European competition, there is no need for them to be chasing transfer targets in January when the best players are either unavailable or come at a huge premium. Not when they already have a squad which for all it's shortcomings on the European stage this year, has comfortably enough in reserve to win the title at a relative canter and have a good tilt at a domestic treble.

The chinks of light in Celtic's performances of late have come from young Scots like Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney, and Ronny Deila should be applauded for giving these kids their chance. It would be a real shame if their progress and development was hindered by Celtic taking a gamble on what would likely be an overpriced and unnecessary import.

The only other option available to Celtic would be to take the best of the talent from the SPFL Premiership, a route they have tried with varying levels of success with the signings of Nadir Ciftci, Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven from Dundee United. Signing players of that level again however is unlikely to be the route to European success, and it makes little sense to sign players similar to those they already have to bolster their bid for domestic glory.

There is no doubt that if Celtic are to trust Ronny Deila to have a crack at Champions League qualification next season then the squad requires real investment, but the summer is the time to do that when players are more readily available and more fairly priced. Wasting money on exorbitant transfer fees and unneccesarily adding to the wage bill are actions which should be rightly confined to Celtic's past.