Now we know who is to blame, Sutton responds to Mark Lawwell’s departure.

Chris Sutton is sceptical of Celtic’s claim that Mark Lawwell resigned as Head of First Team Scouting and Recruitment.

In the Interim Report on February 23, Chairman Peter Lawwell expressed his dissatisfaction with the recruitment carried out during the January transfer window.

A week later, the club used the same Friday time slot to announce that the Head of Recruitment and his assistant, Joe Dudgeon, had taken gardening leave after less than two years on the job.

Putting two and two together in the Daily Record, Sutton gives his thoughts on the departure of the Celtic Recruitment chief:

“There were questions over who was to blame for January – and the window last summer. Now it looks like we have the answer. Celtic might say Mark Lawwell is leaving to pursue other opportunities but it looks like he’s fallen on his sword.”

“There was an inevitability about this after Peter Lawwell’s statement in the interim accounts.”

“The chairman said the clubs shared the frustration about the lack of signings in the window when Brendan Rodgers had said he needed four quality recruits. The big question was why – and who was to blame? I think we now know.”

“There should be a collective responsibility when it comes to transfers from the recruitment team to the manager. But clearly something wasn’t right – and it goes back to last summer.”

“You look at the players coming in. Some of them clearly have not been fancied and that has put the spotlight on the recruitment team.”

The focus now at Celtic is on what happens next.

It is reasonable to assume that very little preparation has been made for the summer transfer window, which includes the huge uncertainty of whether Champions League group stage income is guaranteed or only available through a difficult qualifying route.

With virtually no comment from the club, it is unclear whether Lawwell and Dudgeon will be replaced directly or if a new structure will be implemented, such as appointing a Director of Football to oversee recruitment and all playing matters at the club.

In other news, Celtic made a declaration that their supporters much needed to hear.