Cameron Carter-Vickers insists that Hearts shouldn’t have had a Celtic free kick prior to the goal, but hurting star bins excuses

Carter-Vickers insists he did not foul Nathaniel Atkinson before Stephen Kingsley curled in the resulting free kick.

Celtic have simply not been good enough, according to Cameron Carter-Vickers.

However, the Parkhead defender believes that self-analysis is the only way out of troubled times. And Carter-Vickers insists that the squad’s stars are willing to take responsibility and assist skipper Callum McGregor in leading them back to the required levels. Brendan Rodgers, the manager, lamented the team’s lack of desire and mentality during the nightmare weekend performance against Hearts, which resulted in the club’s first home league loss in 52 games.

McGregor was also brutally honest, claiming that the team had been guilty of disrespecting the hard parts of the game as they flopped for the second time in a row. Celtic have now suffered back-to-back top-flight defeats for the first time in a decade, having lost the previous weekend at Kilmarnock, and Carter-Vickers made no attempt to sugarcoat the dismal performance.

He insists that the only way to improve is to look deep within this week in search of solutions, as he explained[Daily Record]: “We have to analyse what went wrong, see where we can improve as a team and as individuals. If we do that, performances will get better.

“We weren’t good enough. We conceded two sloppy goals, which is something we need to look at in training and try to improve on. We probably should have created more and also finished the chances we did have to try to get ourselves back in the game. Ultimately, it wasn’t good enough.

“For large parts of the second half, we did have them in their half, around their box. But again there were sloppy moments throughout the half which killed our momentum. When we did get in and around the box, we weren’t good enough in the final third to create clear openings to score goals. Again, that’s something we need to look at and try to improve on.”

When asked to speculate on the cause of the deplorable display, he replied, “I’m not sure. It’s tough to say right now. Emotions are obviously high when you lose a game. But as a group, we’ve got to get our heads down now, work hard on the training pitch and try to start turning out better performances.

“Win, lose or draw we always know the next game is the most important one and as a group that’s what we try to focus on. Every game of football is different. You come up against different styles. Champions League games are just very different games compared to the league games.

“Even in the win against Hibs, they pressed up and tried to keep the ball a bit more than what we normally face in the league. Maybe it’s the case that we struggle against certain styles of team and, again, that’s something we need to look at and try to improve on. With better performances come wins.”

Celtic fans vented their rage during the second period, and it felt like a watershed moment for some fans who were dissatisfied with the club’s recent recruitment efforts and subsequent failure to secure a position of power. Rodgers’ post-game comments suggested he wasn’t willing to put up with such poor performances any longer, even if he wasn’t surprised.

But, when it was pointed out to Carter-Vickers that it was a day when a line had to be drawn in the sand and used as a marker point for form transformation, he was wary of making such broad statements at such a serious time and said, ““I don’t really like using phrases like that. It’s easy to throw things out like that, but the real work comes in analysing and seeing where we can improve.”

Of course, Celtic’s cause was harmed at the weekend when referee Kevin Clancy enraged the hosts by awarding a free-kick against Carter-Vickers for a challenge on Nat Atkinson with the score 1-0 to the visitors. Hearts’ Stephen Kingsley added salt to the wound by curling the award past Joe Hart for a devastating second away goal, and the defender admitted: “I didn’t think it was a free-kick.”

“I planted my foot on the floor and he (Atkinson) was already slipping. He kind of skipped into my leg which was planted and the referee gave a free-kick.”

Carter-Vickers, however, was unconcerned, saying, “Over the 90 minutes, we probably didn’t do enough to deserve to win the game. We’ve got to look at it and try to improve.”

Celtic require provisions, with both the manager and captain emphasising the importance of quality recruitment next month. But the custodian is adamant that there is still enough in the locker room right now to vastly improve on Saturday’s disaster, as he stated: “I think so. Right now we’re going through a bit of bad form, a bad patch of results, but we know and believe in ourselves that if we work hard and improve, we’ve got enough.”

McGregor must lead on the pitch, but Carter-Vickers says he and others must offer support to the captain, adding, “Of course. There are a few boys in there who feel that way as well. It’s no use having just Cal. He’s our captain and shows that responsibility but he needs help.

“There are a few boys in the changing room who are willing to take that responsibility, willing to try to lead the team, and that’s something we need to do in the coming weeks.”

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