Celtic financial results are due but they might be sneaked out and posted to the South Pacific - Daily Record

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A last minute winner always lifts the mood but the short term sugar fix of Rugby Park shouldn't fool Celtic's leadership into thinking they are riding out the storm.

Kelechi Iheanacho's stoppage time penalty provided a moment of sheer joy amongst a support that's spent most of the summer with rising levels of seethe.

But the undercurrents of resentment are not going to go away.

In terms of the fan protests, the walking in late to games and the barrage of banners, that stuff could die down.

It's extremely difficult mobilising a fan base of this size and the simple fact is most supporters are not that militant.

They might have a moan and a whinge but in general they just want to go to the games and watch their team playing football.

It's hard to stay mad all the time as well - especially if the side keeps getting results.

That's what the Celtic board are probably banking on, hoping wins can help blow the clouds away.

Yet that's wishful thinking. Because the sins of the summer are going to keep coming back to bite them this season.

And any time they do hit an inevitable bump in the road - the finger of blame is coming straight back out again.

Lose in the Europa League and it will be down to the imbalanced squad. Celtic didn't just fail to prepare for the Champions League.

A crack at the Europa might have actually secretly appealed to some.

But the lack of proper squad building when it was needed most means the prospect of a deep run in the second tier competition doesn't look that likely.

Even when things are going well, it's a stick to beat the board with. Look at Sunday.

Sebastian Tounekti lit up Rugby Park and even Brendan Rodgers had a bit of a wistful look at it afterwards.

He admitted that was the kind of quality his side could have done with four weeks earlier when they were preparing to take on a team who were hellbent on playing for penalty kicks from the first whistle in the first leg.

It was like Bullseye rolling out the speedboat they could have won.

Then there is the giant elephant in the room - or rather the huge pile of cash in the attic.

Celtic's financial results are due out any time now. It'll be interesting when they get released into the wild.

Never mind a 9pm statement on a Saturday night. There's a good chance they'll be written on a sheet of A4 paper and nailed to a tree on some inhabited island in the South Pacific.

This is a club that tried to sneak out their best ever results without people noticing because they knew there would be grumbles over what was spent on the side.

That was two years ago. This time? Celtic are absolutely minted and they could be revealing a cash pot of £80m plus. There are whispers it could be nearer £100m.

Any fans who were starting to calm down will get riled back up again pretty sharpish if the team is toiling in Europe while sitting on a not-so small fortune.

The manager issue isn't going to go away either. You can't call a club insider a coward, demand an investigation and resignation and then let it slide away unnoticed.

Brendan Rodgers hasn't packed away the bazooka just yet.

There are also plenty of questions on the park. Tounekti is off to a flier and Iheanacho is up and running, but the latter still has a lot to prove on the back of a few years of drifting.

Michel-Ange Balikwisha hasn't set the heather on fire yet and he didn't look so comfortable on the right flank at the weekend.

And then there is the curious case of the Hoops Lost Bhoys.

Shin Yamada and Hayato Inamura have already been sent to Rodgers's Room 101.

Jahmai Simpson-Pusey moved straight in there as soon as he arrived. The youngster landed from Man City with a bit of pedigree and the prospect of plenty of game time.

But he's been bombed out of the Europa League squad and not seen a second of action yet.

If he's not in the side for Partick Thistle on Sunday then he'd be as well heading back down the road.

Likewise Paulo Bernardo. No one is saying the midfielder is Zinidane Zidane, but his quiet slip down the pecking order is another peculiar situation, especially when the Celtic midfield hasn't looked all that mobile this season.

Meanwhile record signing Arne Engels looks built for Europe but if he's benched again in Belgrade next week, he could also be asking Shin and co shift up and leave a seat on the snubbed sofa.

Celtic have been a well-oiled machine for years but it now seems like the warning lights are flashing all over the place, and there's no way to sugar coat any of it.