Andy Walker believes Celtic 'lack leadership' and will struggle against Motherwell next weekend.
Hoops are a shadow of last season's side, says Andy
Former Celtic striker Andy Walker says the current Hoops side lacks "leadership."
Neil Lennon's men could only muster a goalless draw at home to Hibernian on Saturday, the latest in a string of poor results.
The Bhoys - who have lost to St Johnstone, Hearts and arch-rivals Rangers so far this season - lie 12 points behind Ally McCoist's SPL leaders, while they are a further three points in arrears of second-placed Motherwell.
Lennon has threatened to publicly name the players he believes are underperforming, and Walker - who enjoyed two spells at Celtic between 1987-96 - reckons the list is a long one.
"It would be easier to name the players who are doing it for him!" he told
Sky Sports News HD.
"In my view, there's only person you would look at and that's James Forrest. You look around the rest of the Celtic starting XI and there's a real lack of leadership, it's a very soft team.
"There's been three or four captains this season and I think it's up to those with a bit of experience to show the way.
"It's a big test for Neil Lennon to see how he can overcome this problem."
Mystery
Hoops midfielder Joe Ledley believes his team will have to win their 26 remaining matches to have any chance of lifting the SPL trophy next spring.
But Walker branded that statement "silly" and says Celtic's focus should be on getting a little run of victories and returning to last season's style of football, which helped them finish just one point shy of Rangers in the final league table.
"They need to get a small run going, just to get the supporters back on side," he said. "When they lost at home to St Johnstone, and lost to Hearts, some of the players seemed to have given up.
"Celtic can play some really good football, but it's always been in 20 or 30 minute bursts.
"And it's a mystery as to why they're performing like this when you compare them to the Celtic of last season who were able to rack up a good number of points.
"They were sparkling last season but I haven't seen much of that this time around."
Commitment
Celtic - who are in Europa League action against French outfit Rennes on Thursday evening - will propel themselves up to second in the SPL next weekend if they win at Motherwell.
However, Walker - who began his playing career at Fir Park - thinks the Hoops will be in for a tough afternoon against Stuart McCall's buzzing Steelmen.
"When they go away to Motherwell next week, you'll learn a lot about the players and whether or not they're playing for their manager," he added.
"Motherwell won 2-0 last season so Celtic know they will be in for a hard game.
"The beauty of the Motherwell team at the moment is that it practically picks itself. They've had luck with team selection but they've taken advantage of it.
"They know what their team-mates are going to do and give 100 per cent commitment. I'm not sure you can say that about Celtic.
"It will be interesting to see the type of energy and drive and what type of performance the Celtic supporters will get."
