Dismissive Cammy Bell reckons delays over Ange Postecoglou 's Celtic appointment could derail Celtic's season.
The Australian manager has a massive task on his hands to wrestle the title back from Ibrox next season after Steven Gerrard masterminded an unbeaten league campaign.
However, the former Yokohama F Marinos boss was bullish about the Hoops chances at his first press conference, though Bell couldn't see much of a title tilt.
With a massive rebuild needed ahead of the Champions League qualifiers and Scottish Premiership restart, the retired shot-stopper reckoned it could be too much too soon for Postecoglou.
With his first competitive game against FC Midtjylland on the horizon and the Scottish season opener against Hearts at the end of July, Bell told BBC Sportsound the league dream of Celtic fans could be over after just one month.
He said: ""I think there is a lot going on at Celtic at the minute. I think they have three and a half weeks before a massive game, which Ange will get judged on.
"If he goes out of the Champions League the Celtic fans won't forget that, so he has got three and a half weeks to turn this around.
"You've got Ajer, Edouard, Christie, Nthcham, Griffiths, Hendry gone, Brown gone; so without those players there is a lot of uncertainty at Celtic and they have got three and a half weeks.
"They might not be up to speed by the start of the season. They could be out of the Champions League, and the league could be gone if Rangers continue the form they had last season.
"If Celtic don't start the season well, the league could be gone within the first month.
"Rangers won't lose many games if they continue to go the way they did last season. He's got a massive job on his hands and he's probably going to feel the pressure pretty quickly.
"I don't know how prepared Dominic McKay is. Do they have a list of players for Ange coming in, to say these are the players we look at? But Ange's still might not suit it.
"It's all been a little bit too slow. It surprised me how slow it has been for Celtic. I know they were trying to get Eddie Howe, they failed on that, and they had to go to Ange.
"I don't know how far down the line they are with signing players, because they could lose two or three of their best players which could be devastating.
"The season could be over within the first couple of months if they don't start well."
