They waited. And they waited some more. And all they got – well, before our own print deadline slammed shut - was a loan transfer from Norwich City that every man and his dog knew was happening the day before. And they even drew that one out.

It isn’t Adam Idah’s fault that transfer deadline day was a damp squib for the Celtic support, nor is the fact that the announcement of the Republic of Ireland international’s arrival at the club late last night went down like the proverbial cup of cold sick.

It’s just that the Celtic fans expected more, and they were right to. Whether Brendan Rodgers expected more – and the pre-window shopping list he put into the public domain would suggest it is so – we will surely find out when he faces the press later today. A left-back, at the very least, was surely not too much to ask.

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As the fifth anniversary of Rodgers walking out on Celtic for Leicester City approaches later this month, it appears that the issues that in-part influenced that decision remain. The chasm between his stated ambition and the level of spend the board are willing to sanction has seemingly not been bridged.

That will surely form the line of questioning posed to Rodgers later in the day. Moving forward, it will now be up to Nick Kuhn and Idah to show that they do indeed represent the ‘quality’ additions that the Celtic manager had called for this month, if not the volume.

Idah, for his part, was at least pleased to be in Glasgow, and it is only fair he himself is judged on his merits and performances in a Celtic jersey, rather than being harshly treated as a lightning rod for supporter ire over the club’s transfer window.

“It’s such a huge club with such a big history behind it and I can’t even put into words what it’s like to be at Celtic," Idah told Celtic TV.

“My family and my friends are all delighted that I’m here and I just can’t wait to get started. All of us back home support Celtic so it’s huge for me and I’m so excited to be here.

"I want to play games, I want to help this team and the aim for me is to win those two trophies and I want to score a lot of goals for this club."

Going the other way was Mikey Johnston, with the 24-year-old joining West Bromwich Albion on a loan deal until the end of the season, and David Turnbull, who joined Cardiff City for a fee reportedly in the region of £2m.

And the flip side of the argument regarding this transfer window for Celtic, and one that will no doubt be being sold to the disgruntled masses, is that the players departing the club were of the fringe variety.

Not only did they manage to hold on to key men like Matt O’Riley and Cameron Carter-Vickers, but the club rebuffed a bid from Spanish giants Atletico Madrid for the former and tied the latter to a new long-term contract.

READ MORE: Rodgers defends loan signings as Celtic reality hits home

These factors should not be overlooked, and anger at the lack of incoming quality shouldn’t detract from their importance. The club deserve credit on both of these points.

Whether that will be enough to soothe the wrath of the supporters is doubtful, and whether it is enough to ultimately still retain the Premiership remains to be seen. Given the Champions League riches on offer at the end of the campaign though for the Premiership winner, that it has been left to chance at all amounts to a dereliction of duty in the eyes of many.

Should Celtic fail to win the league having taken that chance, and if Rangers instead bank those millions in the summer, there will be hell to pay. By refusing to invest even a relatively modest amount of their bulging bank balance in ‘quality’ additions during this window, the Celtic board have inadvertently raised the stakes in the last few months of the season even further.

The feeling among the support is that Celtic haven’t gone all in to win this title. Time will tell if what seems like an unnecessary gamble pays off.