CRAIG Gordon last night admitted that Celtic players face being replaced by January transfer window recruits if they continue to perform as badly as they did in their 2-0 defeat to Hibernian.
The Parkhead club failed to reclaim top spot in the Ladbrokes Premiership from Kilmarnock yesterday when they were beaten at Easter Road.
Brendan Rodgers’s side conceded goals to Vykintas Slivka in the first-half and Florian Kamberi in the second as Neil Lennon’s team romped to a comfortable victory.
Rangers, who have played a game more than their city rivals, later moved into first place in the top flight table with a narrow 1-0 win over Hamilton at Ibrox.
Gordon denied fatigue after a draining Europa League match against Salzburg on Thursday night or a change of formation were responsible for the poor display and loss in the capital.
Rodgers is keen to strengthen his squad with new signings next month and has made bringing in two strikers a priority.
His goalkeeper admitted players could leave if they drop more points in their remaining games before the winter break against Motherwell and Dundee at home and Rangers away.
“It’s up to the manager to decide what he wants in his squad and the positions we have to improve on,” said Gordon.
“The guys who are here have to step up and make sure they are in the manager’s plans, especially leading up to January.
“So it’s up to us to make sure our performances are good because at a club this big, if your performances
are not up to scratch for a period of time then you can get replaced.
“We have to make sure we work hard enough to stay in the team and deliver the results the manager, the club and the fans want.”
He added: “Do I expect him (Rodgers) to be busy in January? I don’t know. I don’t know what his plans to bring players in are.
“I think he will want to do that, but we will have to see what happens when that time comes. We will see who comes in and who goes.
“Then we have to start the second half of the season looking to go on a run again.
“There are a lot of games and we are going to have to use a lot of players. We’re going to have to try and have a strong end to the month now.
“There are still a lot of games and a lot of points to play for between now and then. We have to look to take as many as we possibly can to put us in a good place for the second half of the season.”
Gordon denied that any of the Celtic players were taking an eighth consecutive Scottish title for granted and admitted most teams in thee Premiership are capable of beating them on their day.
“Nobody here is getting ahead of ourselves," he said. "We just have to win as many matches as we can.
“We go into every game trying to win it, but to do that you have to win the battle and fight every single week.
“To play the way we want to you have to win those battles first and when you don’t do that, you see what happens today.
“The league is strong, there are a lot of teams capable of winning games. You probably only have three teams who are down at the bottom and the rest are all capable of taking points from the big games.
“Even last weekend Dundee took a point from Rangers, so the bottom clubs are even starting to pick up points.
“The league is tight all the way through it, so it’s tough and we have to get back to working hard enough to earn the right to win points."
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