Whether right or wrong, Kasper Schmeichel Has become public enemy number one celtics after a series of false starts this season in recent weeks and months.

The 39-year-old was at fault for at least two goals in the Europa League first leg against Stuttgart, but he started in the defeat to Hibernian before being replaced by Viljami Sinisalo in the second leg in Germany, a game that initially looked to be going almost nowhere.

This could just be a rotation ahead of the weekend’s Glasgow derby, although Schmeichel was curiously absent from the Ibrox game at the time, reportedly due to illness.

Whatever the circumstances surrounding this absence, the question remains that even in the Dane’s absence, Celtic’s flaws were brutally exposed in Sunday’s first half, Martin O’NeillThe problem isn’t just with his aging goalkeeper.

Why Celtic’s trip to Ibrox shows Schmeichel isn’t the only problem

When Celtic, then led by Wilfried Nancy, faced Rangers at Parkhead in early January, the home side broke through the traps and took an early lead thanks to Yang Hyun-jun’s solo stunt.

However, as has been a common theme during Nancy’s ill-fated tenure, there was an almost inevitable collapse after an intense first half, with Schmeichel at the scene of the crime and Mickey Moore grabbing a crucial chance after Yusef Cermiti’s earlier brace.

Jekyll and Hyde’s performances were turned upside down this time, with the Hoops putting up a brilliant fightback through Kieran Tierney and Reo Hatate to seal a crucial point in the title race.

A resurgence in the second half rekindled positivity towards O’Neill’s side, although the nature of the first half could not be ignored, with players in green and white floundering as Rangers ramped up the pressure.

They were blocked on the right wing by the advancing Tour Romens ahead of Cermiti’s header, while Julian Araujo was bypassed for the Portuguese’s second goal as Dane Murray blundered in the build-up.

There was a feeling that removing Schmeichel might provide a quick solution, although within 26 minutes that was firmly overturned as the new-look makeshift backline wilted under early pressure.

Celtic star becoming bigger burden than Schmeichel

With Schmeichel no longer an obvious target, attention may have to shift elsewhere and a repeat of Sunday’s first half is simply unsustainable if the club is to achieve its title ambitions.

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The expert was not impressed.

The aforementioned Murray did have one forgettable moment when he failed to deal with a routine ball into the box, although the 22-year-old has since found his feet and performed well in other areas to ensure no further damage was done.

Indeed, the young Scot looked like a fine senior centre-back at times, with Liam Scales once again having a tough time on the left.

Defensively, the Irishman won eight of ten ground duels while making 11 clearances, but there was an ungainly quality to his game that induced nerves, often dragging his feet on the ball and putting both himself and his team under pressure.

This can be seen in the fact that the 27-year-old has conceded the ball 16 times in total at Ibrox, while his long ball accuracy is only 17% and he often creaks when faced with forwards.

Of course, the £500,000 new signing has risen from fringe figure to regular starter in recent years, although the recent 2-2 draw sadly exposed his flaws and perhaps highlighted why he was left out of the squad during Nancy’s short tenure.

While the French coach may have been underwhelming during his eight games in charge, it was telling that he chose to banish Skiles from his team at the time, with the left-footer starting just two of Nancy’s six league games in charge.

Scales was an unused substitute in the 4-2 win over Livingston and did not feature until the games against Dundee United, Aberdeen and Rangers, with Nancy prioritizing Tierney’s ball-playing ability as a left-sided centre-back.

When he came on, Skiles later admitted he struggled with the demands of a new manager in the position, pointing to “fatigue” as an issue when asked to push forward too often, leading to a lack of quality in the final third.

While Nancy’s stubborn refusal to change didn’t sit well with him, it could be argued that he was right not to view Scales as the modern progressive centre-back he was after, a defender whose limitations were only highlighted again at the weekend.

Supporters may be keen to see what the team would look like without Schmeichel, although the trip to Ibrox proved the experienced goalkeeper is not the sole cause of Celtic’s problems, with the players ahead of him – namely Skiles – currently doing neither him nor Sinizalo any favors.

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