Neil Lennon insists there are mitigating circumstances surrounding Celtic's disaster season that can't be made public.
The Parkhead boss is already planning for the future with the capture of Sheffield Wednesday's Liam Shaw on a pre-contract.
The club's 10 In A Row dream, however, is all-but extinguished with Rangers just four wins from the title.
Celtic host Aberdeen on Wednesday night in a bid to claw back more ground on their rivals and Lennon says fans who claim failure to deliver 10 In A Row should result in his sacking haven’t been privy to off-field issues which will be kept private.
The manager said: “I don’t think it’s unfair or unrealistic but we have had mitigating circumstances throughout the course of the campaign, some of which I can’t divulge publicly.
“But I’ve never shied away from the fact that it’s been massively disappointing and we could and should have performed better. That’s on me, my staff and the football department as well.
“It’s not a popularity contest. It’s about playing good football and winning, bringing players to the club, developing them and selling them on, which is what I’ve done over the piece.
“The 10 was the Holy Grail, really, and it may be beyond us but we won’t give it up just yet.”
Lennon also insists Celtic won’t be going back to the drawing board with their recruitment this summer as he attempts to navigate a transfer market remotely.
He said: “I don’t think it’s going to be a massive overhaul, although people over-react and say things to make the situation seem so dramatic.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do and that’s a challenge in itself but it’s an exciting one. The problem we have with recruitment is that we can’t get out and watch players live and that’s a big, big problem.
“It’s slightly different from previous years where you’d go and watch someone and get a feel for him after 10-15 minutes. We’ve missed that this season and had to rely on video, word of mouth or looking at iScout and you don’t get that feel for them with that process.”
Punt the players this summer who didn’t want to be there last summer?
“Things can change: mindsets can change and a lot of the players are looking very happy at the minute, albeit we’re well behind and it’s not been good enough.
“Some of them have been put through the wringer, getting abused and criticised but there’s been an improvement (sonic problems with this bit) and we’re looking ahead now.
“Again, I’m not going to talk about wholesale changes: we’ll take each individual on his own merits, the pros and cons and whether it represents good business keeping them here.”
