There's never a dull moment at Parkhead right now with the burning issues coming thick and fast

A boardroom fans roadshow, a B team battering and a internet backlash against a former star’s wild take on a sensitive issue.

Celtic haven’t played since Sunday’s defeat to Falkirk but the drama around the club continues on a daily – if not hourly - basis.

There’s the small matter of a Europa League clash with Besiktas on the horizon as well, with the Hoops’ hopes of reaching the knockout stages hanging on by a thread.

There’s plenty to chew on so Record Sport has looked at some of the burning issues on the Celtic agenda today….

MAC ATTACK

Frank MacAvennie is a Celtic favourite and punters love his forthright opinions and passion for his old club.

But the former frontman was miles offside with his comments about Auston Trusty being absent on compassionate leave following the death of his father – and it stuck a raw nerve with lots of punters.

Macca said: “I’ve got every respect for that, but how long do you want off? Martin O’Neill says he’s away to celebrate the life of his dad. Celebrate the life? You’ve got football. You’re getting paid and we’re in trouble. How long is it going to be? It’s the woke brigade now isn’t it?”

Jeez. Jaws were on the floor with that one and the man himself had to back track amid a backlash.

It was a wild take though. Trusty is just 26-years-old, living thousands of miles away from his family, and he’s just lost his dad.

It’s a heartbreaking situation. This is Trusty’s job. His job’s cooler than most, but it’s still just a job, and family always comes first.

Grief hits harder than any tackle – and there’s no timescale for rehab with this kind of emotional injury.

That kind of loss is a gun shot wound in the short term and and it leaves the kind of wound that doesn’t actually heal – you just learn to live with the pain.

Trusty needs support, not questions over his commitment, to be Frank.

THE GRAND TOUR

The Celtic board popping up at a supporters meeting in Greenock on Monday night was an eye-opener.

They have repeatedly said they are trying to improve communication with the fans and going out on the road is part of the plan. It’s a positive step – but a strange way to go about it. Taking questions from a group of around 120 fans is no bad thing – but there are about 120,000 others who’d like to hear the answers as well.

This is not 1970. There are plenty of ways to address the public – and not just on club TV with underarm jobs gently tossed for them to bat away. It’s been almost a year since chief executive Michael Nicholson did even that and there’s only been a couple of Brian Wilson cosy chats where the interim chairman has promised exciting news that never seems to arrive.

Nicholson handled the flak in Greenock the other night pretty well, by all accounts, and it shouldn’t be surprised. He’s no daft, despite how some fans perceive him, but he needs to show that to a wider audience.

Sit down with the big bad mainstream media, take a few fast ball pitches and put a human face on the club for once. Dermot Desmond accused fans of dehumanising board members, and he was right.

But only because they have allowed themselves to be distant, abstract characters, who are easy to turn into bogey men because folk don’t know them as real people. Refusing to answer tough questions only creates and impression of not having the answers.

It’s not a Trump rally style supporters club roadshow Celtic need right now – it’s a stadium tour.

TO B OR NOT TO B

The Celtic second string line-up for the KDM Evolution Trophy trip to Ross County was another eye-brow raiser for Hoops fans.

It probably was for some of the players involved as well. Chelsea youngsters Shim Mheuka and Landon Emenalo haven’t had much top team action so they were sent to Dingwall for a run out – while £3.4m signing Jason van den Berg also got his first taste in a Hoops shirt. These guys need game time to be ready for the senior side, so it’s understandable the made the jaunt north.

Likewise, that’s why boss Martin O’Neill also make the hike up the A9 as he desperately seeks for a spark for his side. But the flip side was that some of the club’s homegrown talents were nudged out of the team in a game that would have been a decent test and indicator of their progress.

Players like striker Luke Clearie. The kid has rattled 17 goals in his last 14 games for the B team and it might have helped seeing how he coped against an experienced League One outfit who are flying.

Chelsea also might not be too fussed seeing two of their highly rated projects playing in the KDM rather than getting the top flight taste they would have preferred.

The heavy-hitters didn’t do much help, mind you, as Celtic lost 2-0 and keeper Corey Shaw kept the score down, just to add to the levels of grumpiness in the support.