It may be all the more constructive as a result. Peter Lawwell, the club's chief executive, Neil Lennon and his support staff, will convene to assess the campaign and discuss the future. The disciplinary cloud is hovering over Parkhead and is set to break with an almost certain dramatic effect, but there are also football matters to be resolved at Celtic.
Lennon faces a series of bans that should consign him to the stand for so long he will qualify for a season ticket. The reaction to his behaviour is as overheated as the manager's outbursts. There are two possible resolutions to the problem. First, referees stop making mistakes or, second, Lennon stops complaining about them. The latter is the more realistic option with the Northern Irishman finding a place in the directors' box is not where he wants to watch games and adjusts his behaviour accordingly.
The officials made errors on Sunday. Ian Black should have been sent off, the penalty decision against Celtic was soft, particularly so if it was given against Victor Wanyama, and Gary Hooper's goal was scored from an offside position. The last is a matter of fact.
These mistakes are part of an unalterable past, but Celtic need to look carefully at how they mould the future in playing terms. There have been telling, unavoidable lessons offered at Hampden under Lennon's tenure. He has a 4-4 record at the national stadium as a manager, losing to Ross County, Rangers, Kilmarnock and Hearts and beating Aberdeen (twice), Falkirk and Motherwell.
As always, victory comes with celebration and defeats are accompanied by education. There are two obvious constants to the losses. There has been much chatter about the manager picking the wrong teams, adopting the wrong tactics. The losses cut straight to a brutal bottom line. In the defeats, Celtic have scored two goals: one through a midfielder in Joe Ledley, the other was offside.
The goals conceded have been awful. Rudi Skacel's opener on Sunday was well taken but the lead-up play was hardly reminiscent of Barcelona and thus should not have cut open a defence. Kilmarnock's winner in the Scottish Communities League Cup final was a simple header that should have been stopped at source, then at the instant the ball was crossed and then when it entered the six-yard box. The two goals in the League Cup final defeat by Rangers last season were also cheaply conceded.
Celtic's central defensive problems endure. Kelvin Wilson does not look the answer. There are those who say he is quick. There are others who say he has to be such is his inability to read a developing situation. On Sunday, he was involved in an involuntary assist for the first Hearts goal and a slack pass back in the first minute. Furthermore, he contributed to the continuing Celtic problem of not being able to deal with a physical centre-forward. This has persisted, at least, since the days of Daniel Cousin and through Nikica Jelavic, Kyle Lafferty, Lee McCulloch to Craig Beattie.
The problem up front is also simple to diagnose. Hooper, for all his attributes, is either distracted by a possible move or committed to a definite one. He is capable of the smart header, such as that on Sunday, but now disappears in games, surfacing far from the front line. Part of this is tactical, as he seeks to create room for others, but on other occasions he is simply drifting too far away to make the touch to a cross.
Anthony Stokes is also a frustrating player. He has made telling contributions, most notably in Inverness and Motherwell when Celtic's league challenge was fragile, but he can be careless in front of goal and downright casual in not spotting he is in an offside position. The suspicion is that Lennon may be resigned to losing Hooper and would not be grief-stricken if Stokes could be offloaded.
The problem for Celtic is to strengthen in two areas: central defence and centre-forward. The midfield is strong, with the return of Biram Kayal making it more formidable. There is pace and guile in James Forrest and Dylan McGeouch. Celtic, though, must find a striker and a centre-half.
There will be departures, with Hooper and Ki Sung-Yueng the most obvious candidates, but the wage bill can also be reduced by off-loading several of the players who are on loan and others who are on the fringe of the side and have not made an impact. There is much talk, then, of a substantial war chest. This ignores the reality that a balanced book at Celtic will owe much to incoming fees for players. Lennon will certainly be given money, but it will be limited.
Celtic have spent wisely in recent years. Kayal, Ki, Emilio Izaguirre, Hooper, Victor Wanyama and others are testimony to the spotting ability by the scouting staff and the decision-making by Lennon. It is now time to invest in guaranteed quality. Celtic crave experience at the back but this needn't break the bank. They also require someone who can convert chances. This sort of ability comes at a premium. There is risk in splashing out everything in a quality striker but there may be a handsome dividend too.
