BEFORE we begin, a disclaimer: This is not an excuse for Celtic's board, Dermot Desmond and egregious decision-making piled one on top of another. On the contrary, there will be plenty of scrutiny of that.

But, first things first, there needs to be a calm appraisal of what happened at Tynecastle on Saturday night and an attempt to place it in some kind of context: Was it really that bad?

Ange Postecoglou's side lost a game they dominated. That's not a subjective view; it's quantifiably measurable by the numbers it produced: Celtic had 70% possession, won 60% of their tackles, enjoyed a 90% passing accuracy to Hearts 66% and produced 19 shots to their opponents' four.

For the most part, in an attacking sense, they passed the eye test, too. Often it was only a lack of sharpness or precision, out by millimetres, which ended promising attacks. Those are the kind of wrinkles that are ironed out over the course of a season when the early rust of pre-season is sandpapered away with each passing game. Of course, the ease with which it disappears is helped by winning, and in turn the confidence that it generates.

However, it is also a truism in football that poor performance on the pitch is a manifestation of poor governance off it. And, in Celtic's case, this was beyond dispute in Edinburgh at the weekend. Objectively, all of Celtic's problems afield stemmed from abject policy.

At one end of pitch on a summer's evening in Gorgie, stood an imposing goalkeeper – Craig Gordon – who produced two saves as the match entered its closing stages to preserve an attritional victory for Hearts. At the other, was a career stand-in, who while blameless for Celtic's defeat, is surely not the custodian they will entrust their season to.

Gordon was invariably deemed too expensive and/or not good enough with his feet to be retained by Celtic last summer while Scott Bain remained as Vasilis Barkas was signed as a No.1. The Greek has been an unmitigated disaster and points an unflattering finger at the sporting director who signed him, Nick Hammond, who was once a goalkeeper himself.

They will look to resolve their goalkeeping woes – accentuated by the form of Rangers' Allan McGregor last season – by drafting in Joe Hart, a player they could have signed for free a year ago but now might have to pay £1m for. Observing Hart over recent seasons will do little to convince Celtic supporters that the former England No.1 is a long-term replacement, though, but the logic seems to be that Hart – himself often found wanting with the ball at his feet and therefore not the ideal fit for Postecoglou's system – is better than Barkas and Bain. It is a state of affairs that seems to sum up Celtic's ineptitude on the recruitment front more than any other area of the team.

Meanwhile, their problems at the back were exposed once again at Tynecastle just as they had been in Denmark against Midtjylland in midweek – and, indeed, repeatedly last season.

Carl Starfelt was thrust into action despite having barely emerged from quarantine and he turned in the kind of performance that showed up his lack of familiarity with his team-mates and the system. Yet, again, these are the kind of shortcomings that time can mend. After all, Henrik Larsson's debut made a similarly calamitous debut for Celtic in Edinburgh in 2-1 defeat by Hibernian – and we all know how that story played out – even if it's clear the Swedish defender is not in quite the same class.

The defensive issues were not all of Starfelt's making, though. Had Christopher Jullien been fit, it's doubtful that John Souttar would have been left in splendid isolation to nod home Hearts' late winner but the Frenchman's absence – and admittedly those of others over the past couple of seasons – has had a negative impact on Nir Bitton.

The Israeli was once a holding midfielder of some promise, whose progressive passing had previously attracted the interest of Manchester City – where he was a trialist – and Arsenal. Instead, he has been shoehorned into a position that he has never quite looked comfortable in and simultaneously provided a sticking plaster to a position that should have been addressed sooner.

Finally, while Celtic were able to make inroads in attack Odsonne Edouard lacked a cutting edge. The Frenchman has been at Parkhead for a season too long and, where once he was a totem of the kind of forward-thinking that the hierarchy at the club was capable of, he now symbolises the dying embers of a once-vaunted transfer policy.

The price seems to have been set at £20-odd million for Edouard but, at one time, they might have had more for him. The 23-year-old perhaps represents the last of the crown jewels Celtic possess. It feels a long time since they purchased a young player who had the scope to flourish before they might reap significant riches after a couple of productive seasons. In the meantime, they have squandered any competitive advantage they had over Rangers and, maybe even a couple of others.

Yet despite all of that, there is still time. Postecoglou was correct to say that defeat against Midtjylland was not catastrophic. The loss at Tynecastle on Saturday night was not either. There are players who will arrive at Celtic Park in the weeks ahead. But the list is long and has arguably grown to two full-backs, a keeper, another centre-back and a striker – maybe even more. The Australian must have them installed into his starting XI, clicking and at optimum speed long before he takes his side to Ibrox to face Rangers on August 29. So, while there is time, it is not in ample supply.

Only when it elapses will it be possible to take the true pulse of a sick patient. It is not a terminal illness, though. Not yet, anyway.