Celtic manager Ronny Deila warned his players they are in danger of missing out on the Scottish Premiership title if their recent run of poor form continues.
The Hoops were left frustrated as they couldn’t break down a Dundee side that rested several first team players ahead of their Scottish Cup quarter-final clash with Rangers tomorrow.
Aberdeen’s 1-0 win over Dundee United means the Dons are now just four points behind the Glasgow giants with just 10 matches remaining.
Celtic have now won just twice in their past five league matches and Deila says a repeat of their showing against Dundee in the league run-in will see his team relinquish their grip on a fifth league title in a row.
“Yes, that’s for sure. We need to be at a totally different level,” the under-pressure Celtic manager said after Wednesday’s 0-0 draw.
“But we know how good we can be when we are at our best. It’s about details and about getting the good feeling back again.
“This is my responsibility and something we have to improve together. We need to change it to get points and to win the league. It was a bad performance but we have to evaluate it and get on and show a totally different side on Sunday.
“Now the players and I have to use this time to think about what is happening and get the solutions and get back on track again.
“We are in front. We need to perform and we need to get our points. If we do that then we will win the league. It’s as simple and as difficult as that but there are still a lot of games left.”
The full-time whistle was greeted with jeers as the home supporters vented their frustration at the players and Deila following their second successive draw.
The Norwegian manager said he understood their anger but insisted he could turn things around and still claim a double with the Hoops, who take on Morton for a place in the last four of the Scottish Cup tomorrow.
“I understand they are irritated, like we are. The players understand that as well but I know the Celtic fans stay behind their team,” Deila said.
“But we have to show that we are a better side than we were today.
“In the dressing room you can see disappointed boys but we only have four days again and we have to be up for the Scottish Cup.”
Celtic captain Scott Brown admitted the players had let themselves down.
“We are devastated. We didn’t play as well as we would have liked or like we could have,” the Scotland international said.
“We let everyone down and it was not good enough from us. We didn’t do ourselves any justice out there. Even if it’s not pretty football we have to grind out results at this stage of the season.
“Points mean so much to us and we have got one point and it’s not good enough for this team.