With just 10 points from their first six Scottish Premiership games, Celtic fans have every right to raise a concerned eyebrow at their team’s current form, yet the issues that dog Brendan Rodgers’ side lie up front, rather than in defence.

While Jack Hendry may make for a tempting target on highlights shows or popular radio phone-ins, the Scottish champions aren’t dropping points because they can’t keep clean sheets. It’s because they can’t score goals.

In this season’s Premiership Celtic are currently averaging 1.13 goals and 15.66 shots per game. When compared to last season’s averages it comes up notably short, when Rodgers’ side would routinely fire home 1.84 goals and rain down 18.42 shots on the opposing side per game.

So as things stand Celtic are scoring around 0.7 less goals per game. And while it may be tempting to blame the service from midfield, the problems seem to arise directly from the men tasked with converting the chances.

Although Rodgers’ midfield looked rather lacklustre in getting up the pitch at Rugby Park on Sunday, their creative outlets remain on par with what we saw last season. The number of passes in to the opposing box in each game has fallen slightly from last season’s 12.45 per game to 11.7, but the team are taking more touches in the opposing box, making more passes in the final third and creating more key passes this season compared to last.

So, essentially, Celtic are getting through opposing defences with the same regularity as last season but once the ball gets in to the box it doesn’t seem to be finding the net. When we look at the data that suggests an unfortunate combination of key players either leaving the club or finding themselves in a notable dry spell.

For example, Scott Sinclair was Celtic’s top goalscorer in all competitions last season with an average goals per 90 average of 0.43. This time around that figure has dropped, significantly, to 0.14. And although the English forward is still providing assists at a similar rate, it’s his goals that Celtic really miss at the moment.

That’s because Celtic’s other front line players are also coming up short in front of goal. James Forrest is currently averaging over twice as many assists than he did last season, but his goals have dropped from 0.37 to 0.17 per 90 minutes.

Yet, perhaps the most worrying is record signing Odsonne Edouard’s current form. The striker tasked with replacing Moussa Dembele has seen his average in all competitions drop from 0.79 to 0.5 goals per 90 minutes, yet in the Premiership that has fallen even further from 0.73 to 0.37.

Indeed, while Edouard’s average touches in the box per game has only fallen from 5.03 to this season’s 4.07, his shots per game have drastically reduced from 3.26 to 1.73. And as such the goals he is expected to score per 90 minutes has fallen from last season’s average of 0.66 to 0.34. Which may explain why he only has one goal in five league games so far this season.

When we couple this with the departure of Dembele, who was actually averaging a better goals per 90 ratio than last season’s performances before he left, we find a Celtic front line decimated by poor, individual form and missing players.

If there is one silver lining for Rodgers it may come in the form of Leigh Griffiths. The Scotland international only has one Premiership goal to his name this season, but in all competitions he’s averaging an almost identical goal tally to last season’s impressive return. And if he can keep himself fit he may offer a consistent source of goals that Celtic so desperately need.

The league campaign is still in its infancy, but if Celtic can’t find some consistent goalscorers up front they will continue to stumble against Premiership opponents and gift their rivals a larger head start.