Paul Lambert has expressed concerns that his former club Celtic is “nowhere near good enough” without additional player signings but has cautioned against “panic.”

So far this summer, striker Camilo Duran is the only new arrival for the Scottish champions. Meanwhile, midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has extended his contract after a brief stint last season. Both players featured during Saturday’s 1-1 friendly draw against Middlesbrough, with Duran scoring Celtic’s equalizer.

Advertisement

Celtic will not see forward Kelechi Iheanacho or former left-back loanee Marcelo Saracchi return this season. Iheanacho has signed with Bursaspor as a free agent, while Saracchi recently took to social media to say goodbye to Celtic fans, noting that he and his agent “did absolutely everything within our power to make a return to Glasgow happen.”

Additionally, Germany-born centre-half Maik Nawrocki, who has played for Poland up to the Under-21 level and was part of their provisional World Cup squad, has been sold by Celtic to Lens.

“The squad’s not strong enough,” Lambert commented on BBC Radio Scotland’s Sportsound.

Advertisement

“I’ve seen Celtic; they’re nowhere near good enough at this moment in time. Everybody recognizes it. They’ll compete, but I don’t think they’re strong enough to go and win it [the league] again right now. The issues were apparent last season, and they won’t simply resolve themselves this year.”

“The squad was very limited compared to last season. They won’t be able to get away with that again – the manager knows this,” he added.

Chief executive Michael Nicholson mentioned this week that Celtic is finding it “difficult” to recruit players, as they are competing against English Premier League and Championship clubs as well as managing agents.

Advertisement

Celtic is set to kick off their competitive season at home against Dundee on 3 August and will enter the Champions League at the play-off stage later in the month.

Lambert highlighted that Celtic needs to invest around “£8-10m” just in recruitment infrastructure.

“I don’t think it’s time for panic stations,” Lambert said, who captained Celtic during Martin O’Neill’s first spell at the club. “In my experience from the Championship and the Premier League, the Championship today compares to what the Premier League was about 10 or 15 years ago. Some clubs in the Championship operate on an extraordinary budget.”

“Celtic is not a development club; it’s a winning club where success is necessary. You must compete both domestically and in Europe. You can’t rely on young players to acclimatize to such a large and demanding club. They need ready-made players, especially to compete in the Champions League.”

“They’re in a bit of a predicament. The only way to improve is by investing. If you don’t spend, you stand still. You have to enhance the squad.”