DUNDEE 2 CELTIC 0 No hiding place for Brendan Rodgers as his failure to get a tune out of players is brutally exposed at Dens Park

Brendan Rodgers had identified this fixture as the launchpad for a resurgence in Celtic’s form and fortunes after a turbulent start to the season.

Instead, their first game in a crucial 21-day period simply exposed the team’s regression in the most brutal fashion as they suffered a seismic defeat at Dens Park.

Full credit to Steven Pressley and his Dundee players who richly deserved to record the Dark Blues’ first home win over the visitors since 1988.

In bringing an end to one of Scottish football’s longest-running hoodoos, they intensified the heat on the Celtic board of directors who were again the focal point of angry protests from travelling fans throughout the afternoon.

Rodgers, however, is no longer being spared from the fire and the fury.

The manager may have been sold short by those above him at Parkhead during a woefully inadequate summer transfer window.

But it’s becoming increasingly clear that he is struggling to get a tune out of a squad who still have enough to retain their dominant position in domestic football.

Instead, they are now five points behind Hearts at the top of the Premiership table ahead of their trip to face Derek McInnes’ buoyant side at Tynecastle on Sunday.

Before then, Rodgers has to try and get Celtic’s stuttering Europa League campaign on track when they host Sturm Graz on Thursday night.

Right now, they are misfiring in every department.

Despite boasting 82 per cent possession against Dundee, they lacked the imagination or variety of movement to do anything meaningful with it.

The tone for a tortuous afternoon for Celtic was set seconds after kick-off when a section of their supporters staged their latest protest by throwing dozens of tennis balls onto the pitch, causing a delay of around five minutes.

The early interruption to play seemed to have a greater impact on Rodger’s men, many of whom appeared exasperated as they helped to clear up the debris from Kasper Schmeichel’s penalty area.

Dundee were quickly onto the front foot when play restarted and there was an early indication of vulnerability in the visitors’ defence when Simon Murray’s clever dummy allowed a Drey Wright cross to find Joe Westley on the edge of the six-yard box.

It was a golden opportunity for the young English forward. His composure deserted him, however, as he badly miscued his shot and sent it wide.

Kelechi Iheanacho was at the heart of a decent response for Celtic when he cut in from the right and unleashed a low left foot shot which clipped the outside of Jon McCracken’s left hand post.

Even when Celtic did establish a more familiar pattern of dominating possession, Dundee looked threatening every time they were able to counter.

They deserved their opener when it arrived in the 18th minute as they took advantage of more ponderous defending from Celtic.

Cameron Congreve’s corner from the right found Clark Robertson in splendid isolation in the centre of the penalty area and the big defender planted a firm header beyond the helpless Schmeichel.

Kieran Tierney wasted a prime chance for a quickfire leveller when he dragged a shot wide after getting in behind the Dundee defence.

It was a rare example of a clear-cut opportunity being carved out by Rodgers’ side. Too often, they lacked precision in and around the Dundee penalty area as the home side showed admirable discipline to keep them at arm’s length.

The Dens Park side maintained a real sense of menace on the counter-attack, especially down Celtic’s left flank where Tierney was regularly exposed by a lack of tracking back in support from winger Sebastian Tounekti.

It was a scenario which Dundee exposed to great effect when they doubled their lead in first-half stoppage time.

Ethan Hamilton sent Congreve racing clear, with Tierney posted missing. The Welsh winger easily beat the covering challenge of Liam Scales and whipped over a low cross. Westley got a touch before Cameron Carter-Vickers could only help the ball on its way beyond Schmeichel.

The Dundee faithful hadn’t seen anything like it since Tommy Coyne scored the only game of the game against the Hoops at this same venue 37 years ago.

Rodgers’ decision to start Yang Hyun-Jun on the right flank, in place of the injured Daizen Maeda, raised eyebrows and was proving to be a conspicuous flop.

The ineffective South Korean winger unsurprisingly failed to reappear for the second half, along with right-back Tony Ralston.

A double substitution, with James Forrest and Jonny Kenny entering the fray, also saw Rodgers switch to a back three.

It did little to improve matters for the champions.

Dundee might even have stretched their lead further in the 61st minute when Celtic were caught out at the back again by Ryan Astley’s long throw-in. Substitute Ashley Hay glanced a header inches wide.

McCracken was hardly being overworked at the other end, although he did make a smart save to deny Iheanacho from close range.

It looked as if Celtic had been handed a lifeline with 20 minutes remaining when referee Matthew MacDermid pointed to the spot after immediately ruling that Paul Digby had blocked a Reo Hatate shot with a hand.

He was called to the VAR screen to review his decision, however, and promptly overturned it.

In the first of five minutes of stoppage time, McCracken made a magnificent one-handed save to touch over a dipping shot from substitute Michel-Ange Balikwisha.

Any lingering hope the Celtic fans had of one of their team’s famous late comebacks finally disappeared in that moment.

Chants of ‘Sack the Board’ filled the air again at the full-time whistle, while the Celtic players were advised in no uncertain terms to make their way up the tunnel when they came across to acknowledge the supporters.

Rodgers met a similar response and cut a disconsolate figure as, head bowed, he walked off the pitch.

The Northern Irishman is unquestionably now facing the most challenging period of either of his two spells in charge of Celtic.