START SPENDING THE TRAVELLER'S CHEQUES

NEIL LENNON came on to the park at Tynecastle yesterday to prove a point and ended up costing Celtic three of them.

The club captain wasn't happy about starting the game on the bench and, to be fair to him, I thought the team played better after he came on for Kenny Miller.

But, instead of being happy to settle for what would have been a hard-earned draw, Celtic were forced to swallow the bitter pill of defeat because of Lennon's misplaced passback to the feet of Roman Bednar.

That was the moment that changed the match but no more than Hearts deserved. They were denied a legitimate goal because of an incorrect offside decision and they were the better team throughout.

Celtic were flat and the only highlight of the first half I can remember is Gordon Strachan being sent to the stand with Hearts coach John McGlynn after their touchline entanglement.

The decision to start without Lennon was strange because when you go to Hearts' ground you need character in your side.

Celtic were second to everything and even though it's early in the season they clearly need additions to the squad.

The transfer window closes in three weeks' time and there's a glaring need to sign a forward who will allow greater variation up front than simply pairing Maciej Zurawski with Miller.

The two combined well against Kilmarnock but they did nothing yesterday. Miller had one shot at goal and, apart from that, they were anonymous membersof a side that was flat. And I'm not blaming the lack of spark on that trip to Japan.

Shunsuke Nakamura was in Yokohama and there wasn't much life about him against Hearts but most of the team was left at home and still did next to nothing.

Strachan came back from Asia saying his squad had no strength in depth, so now is the time to spend all of this money Celtic have been making from their jaunts.

Even more will be earned when the players to go to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea on Wednesday night.

If Celtic's idea of variation is to remove Miller from the front line and replace him with Stilian Petrov then the options aren't right for the manager.

But nothing should be taken away from Hearts. When Rangers dropped two points against Dundee United 24 hours earlier, it took pressure off both sides at Tynecastle.

Now that Valdas Ivanauskas' team have maximum points they'll be thinking they have a genuine chance of not just splitting the Old Firm but winning the title itself.

They've beaten the champions, something they couldn't do last season until it was too late and their victory was meaningless.

Hearts got the stuffing knocked out of them on New Year's Day when they lost 3-2 to Celtic at home and slipped away in the title race but this time it might be different.

Ivanauskas was able to leave out a top performer such as Robbie Neilsonat the start and underline the depth of his squad.

Now the players are boosted before their Champions League qualifier against AEK Athens at Murrayfield on Wednesday.

But what about Celtic? They must regroup and bear in mind that they have to put up a performance against St Mirren at home on Saturday.

What happened yesterday might be hard to take but these mistakes happen in football. The fans will be looking for a response from the players and activity from the boardroom regarding transfers.

The market will have dwindled but there must be players available in Europe who could do a job for Celtic before the transfer window closes.

Younger players such as Derek Riordan are still finding their feet at the club and they need experienced team-mates to help. It's time to get out the cheque book.

Taken from the Daily Record