Chris Sutton believes Celtic may need to spend more than £50m on overhauling their squad this summer if they are to retain their Premiership title and qualify for the Champions League.
Martin O’Neill led Celtic to their fifth successive title on the final day of the season in May. A fractured campaign on and off the pitch ultimately yielded a double result, as a win over Dunfermline also secured Scottish Cup success.
But while Celtic have enjoyed relative dominance in recent years, they were just minutes away from being handed the title by Hearts last season due to off-field supporter protests over managerial changes and signings.
Martin O’Neill will seek further success at Celtic next season
Sutton believes these recruitment issues remain a concern and believes the departure of key players could force Celtic to spend bigger in the summer transfer window to address key areas of the squad.
“Martin was amazing last season, I haven’t seen Celtic win more than a few titles in his position,” he told Sky Sports News. “I mean, the run at the end of the season was special, but I still think there’s no getting away from the fact that a lot needs to change in terms of recruitment at Celtic.
“We have a really important Champions League qualifier and no matter how exciting it was for Celtic fans to get over the finish line last season, there’s no getting away from the fact that Celtic have struggled at times throughout the season, so I’m sure Martin will be looking to bring players in.
“It will be interesting to see who goes out at Celtic. Leo Hatate looks set to leave and maybe Daizen Maeda, Arne Engels and others are big players in the team. So who will Celtic replace those types of players? I think Celtic may actually need to spend upwards of £50m because they need to rebuild their squad.”
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Kris Boyd assesses Celtic’s Scottish Premiership run and highlights the importance of the first Old Firm game.
Celtic are set to kick off their upcoming Premiership campaign with the visit of Dundee on August 3. Sky Sports live broadcastAnd they will play Rangers in the first Old Firm clash of the season on September 20. But before then they have to negotiate a Champions League play-off tie on August 18/19.
Celtic failed to qualify for the Champions League group stage last season and were defeated on penalties by Kairat Almaty in the play-offs. Sutton believes a serious effort is needed over the summer to help the club return to the top spot in Europe.
“Last season the team looked tired at times,” he said. “The question is whether last season’s squad was good enough to win the Scottish Premiership this season and good enough to challenge for Europe. “If Celtic don’t bring in players, I think they will struggle again this season. We all know what will happen.
Celtic led Hearts to the title last season.
“I think Martin O’Neill knows that, so recruitment is everything. And Champions League football, again, Champions League qualification is huge for Celtic. It can change the atmosphere inside and around the club. If you get through that and get into the Champions League, the supporters will be happy. If you don’t get through, the old misery will start again.”
Boyd: Rangers need a good start | Sutton: Röhl had no intention of liking Rangers.
Rangers begin their Premiership season with a visit to Tannadice to face Dundee United in Derek McInnes’ first competitive match.
Sky Sports pundit Kris Boyd said Rangers need to get off to a good start after a poor early showing derailed their title challenge last season.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Kris Boyd has given his thoughts on Rangers’ opening six games of the Scottish Premiership season, stressing the importance of Derek McInnes getting off to a good start.
Boyd said: “It’s a good opener as we travel to Dundee United, and with two home games at home to Hibs and then St Mirren, we have the chance to build some momentum before we travel to Aberdeen.”
“It’s an opportunity for Rangers to get a point. They need to start the season well. Obviously that didn’t happen last season and they were trying to catch up.
“They need to get off to a good start and see where it goes because in this league it can be difficult to get back when you get behind. We saw the amount of change that happened last season at Ibrox because of the poor start, so I think Rangers and Derek McInnes will want to get off to a really good start.”
Lawrence Shankland left Hearts for Rangers this summer.
McInnes replaced Danny Röhl at Ibrox after the German took over at RB Salzburg, and Sutton believes Rangers will be better off with the management change.
“Danny Röhl didn’t have the guts to do that,” Sutton said. “He either left or went to Salzburg. But Derek intervened.”
“At Hearts last season they pushed Celtic all the way. I thought he did a great job. He has proven himself in management and I actually think it was a really smart appointment from Rangers.”
Danny Rohl has been manager at Rangers for less than eight months.
“When we were in crisis at the end of the season, Rangers lost four games on the spin. After that, everything changed and Röhl’s attitude changed.
“And I don’t think it was that much of a surprise to anyone that he ended up leaving. So I think Rangers are better off without him. And as you know, Derek McInnes is a good appointment.”
Can Hart compete again?
Hearts are yet to announce a replacement for McInnes and will be rebuilding themselves following the departure of captain Lawrence Shankland to Ibrox.
Despite this, Boyd believes Hearts can challenge for the title again and insists Tony Bloom and Jamestown Analytics are essential for that to happen.
Derek McInnes and Lawrence Shankland have left Hearts to join Rangers.
Boyd said: “Hearts have lost a manager, a skipper and a talisman in Lawrence Shankland, but I think they will come back from strength to strength.” “Yes, they ran very close to Celtic last season, but I think with Jamestown Analytics and a new manager coming in soon, they will start building again.”
“It’s a very good thing for Scottish football because for a long time the only winners were Rangers and Celtic and of late Celtic have been dominating. Now all of a sudden we have someone else coming in and we can only hope that the bigger clubs, teams like Hibs and Aberdeen, can also come to the party because if they do, we’ve got a really exciting league.”
Sutton has questioned whether Hearts’ best chance for title success was last season, but knows Bloom has plans to get the team competing at the top of the table again.
Tony Bloom will look to help Hearts get back into contention this season.
“This is going to be a very different Hearts side,” Sutton said. “It’s a really interesting story because of the results they achieved last season. Everyone is thinking, ‘Can they do it again?’ They lost Scotland’s best striker, Lawrence Shankland, to Rangers. They lost a talented manager, Derek MacInnes, to Rangers.
“What are Jamestown Analytics going to do to replace them? I’m sure they have a plan. I’m sure Tony Bloom has a plan. It will be interesting to see who comes in as the next Hearts coach and what route they take.
“I’m sure Hearts will be there, but they might have had their chance last season. This season might be a little different. I think it’ll be really interesting to watch.”
