As soon as I saw Dundee United’s starting XI on Sunday I had real worries.
But at no point did I expect such a lacklustre, embarrassing performance from the Tangerines against Celtic.
The Hoops are a top side and they can give anybody a doing on their day.
This, though, was beyond that.
To me, Dundee United were lucky it was only nine.
It could easily have been 12.
The lack of fight should set alarm bells ringing all around Tannadice.
There are real problems at Dundee United – and I’m not just talking about manager Jack Ross.
Everyone associated with the club must shoulder the blame for getting beaten 9-0 on their own patch.
As I say, my own alarm bells were ringing pre-match.
United have obviously been struggling badly since the AZ debacle.
And I’m not one for saying a manager should be playing this player or that player, using this tactic or that.
At the end of the day, the manager sees the players in training and works with them on certain things.
I don’t.
But when I saw a midfield of Dylan Levitt, Archie Meekison and Ian Harkes lining up against Celtic, I was hugely concerned.
Not because they are bad players; they are all individually very good footballers.
But together, trying to defend against the movement of Ange Postecoglou’s team, I feared the worst.
I’ve been saying for years, the balance in midfield isn’t right and it was clear and obvious on Sunday.
United just couldn’t cope.
I’ve been on the end of doings myself, getting in at half-time and it’s already 5-0 or whatever.
It is horrible, absolutely awful.
But there’s also a way to do it.
This United side gave up.
There should be professional pride inside every player that just doesn’t allow that.
In my experience, we’d ensure there was some sort of reaction second half, we might draw the second period and claw back some sort of respectability.
But there was none of that at Tannadice.
Celtic are superb and they never let up. But the number of tap-ins they scored from six-yards out showed a lack of fight.
As a centre-back, you’ve got to be aware of what is around you, constantly checking where your opponents are, but there was no determination to prevent the same goal happening again and again – that’s inexcusable.
There was only one booking, not even a frustrated mis-timed tackle in the second half to show you are actually trying.
It is a team not playing for each other, not playing for the manager.
Leaving Charlie Mulgrew and Tony Watt on the bench, too, tells me there were already problems for Jack Ross to deal with before Sunday.
The manager gets the blame but, as I say, it should be collective responsibility. There are big questions over Dundee United’s recruitment in the summer.
They have a big budget compared to others in the division and are paying some big wages to players. United aren’t getting the hard work and performances they’d expect for that sort of money.
Saying that, I’d be surprised if Ross survives this because any issues behind the scenes before Sunday will now only get worse.
It’s not a one-off.
With a game so soon on Wednesday, he may get one more chance to turn it around.
If he doesn’t, it’s an easy decision for the United board.
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