Tony Mowbray has urged Celtic fans to “keep the faith” as he tries to transform their short and long term fortunes on the park. The Hoops manager has come under fire for a disappointing league record this season which has seen his team slip 10 points off the pace at the top, a record epitomised their 1-0 defeat at Kilmarnock in midweek.
The January transfer window saw upheaval at Celtic Park, with a total of 18 changes to the squad list. Eight players came in, including the loan arrivals of Robbie Keane and Diomansy Kamara, as Mowbray further tried to stamp his own mark on the squad he inherited from Gordon Strachan.
Patience is wearing thin amongst some sections of the support as their team struggle to put together an assuring run of form but Mowbray has urged them to follow their lead of their fellow fans and support his vision.
“There will be some fans that aren’t very happy, there will be some fans who wan’t change but there are a lot of fans which I bump into in the street and as they say, ‘keep the faith, it will come’,” said the Celtic boss. “They can hopefully see the bigger picture.
“I’ve got every respect for our fans. They are up there with the best in the world. Look at the numbers they travel in, the support that they give this football team and yet the manager of the football team can’t listen to every fan. We’ve got millions of them all over the world.
“We want to win along the way, of course we do, but I can’t deny the fact that we get hugely disappointed when we don’t win football matches. But there has to be a bigger picture of where we are taking this club and where we are going to be and the foundations we are putting in place.
"My philosophy doesn't change. I bring a philosophy of what will bring long-term success and continue down that road. When it's done, the evidence is there; it'll be in your face."
He added: "I don't see the panic, to be fair. I don't see the panic, I don't hear the panic, it doesn't interest me. I get on with my job, build a team that will give us long-term success."
Celtic put their league concerns aside for a weekend when they travel to play Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup on Sunday, before an important home game with Hearts in the SPL on Wednesday evening.
