DO you want to know who needs a good January? Lee Congerton.

The man in charge of discovering hidden gems for Celtic needs to start earning his money because Brendan Rodgers’s squad needs help. If he can’t do that then a second question would be asked.

Why is he at the club?

Because right now there is a chance, when there should not be even the remotest, chance that the biggest, richest and best team in Scotland – most people think - won’t win the league if two, probably three, first-team players are not signed in the next transfer window.

Personally, I still think Celtic will make it eight in a row. And most likely by a fair margin for reasons so obvious it’s not worth noting them.

They could even win the Scottish Cup and a third treble. You wouldn’t bet the family fortune on that not happening, let’s put it that way. Plus, today the supporters will start to plan their next away trip in Europe when the last 32 of the Europa League draw takes place.

It’s not doom and gloom, far from it, but Celtic are nowhere close to where they should be.

The reason so many players looked tired, and understandably so given the hectic schedule, is that the squad may be large in terms of numbers but it’s lacking in depth. There are first-team players not good enough to play for Celtic.

That we are even talking about the possibility of someone else winning the title in this era of utter Celtic domination is a shocking state of affairs for everyone at Celtic Park.

Congerton better come up something. Sunderland fans couldn’t believe a man they claim was mainly responsible for filling the squad with hugely expensive flops, which took their club from the Premier League to League One in successive seasons, was given such a big job.

Hibernian were brilliant here. That has to be said. They thoroughly deserved to win. Craig Gordon was faultless, James Forrest showed up as he always does, while Lewis Morgan at least came close to a goal when he got on at 2-0.

Hibs keeper Ofir Marciano did not have to make a save worthy of the name.

I do not agree that Scott Brown’s legs are gone. But he and Olivier Ntcham can’t play in the same team. It worked for a while but these two are not compatible.

But Brown should have been sent off for a shocking tackle on Vykintas Slivka.

Ntcham had a dreadful afternoon at Easter Road. Two of his free-kicks hit the Hibs wall and one actually led to the second goal.

The second-half was 13 minutes old when Celtic won a free-kick in what is great area for someone to have a pop. The Frenchman’s effort was poor, the ball fell to Scott Sinclair who was easily dispossessed.

Hibs sub Sean Mackie got the ball, Ntcham chased and had three opportunities to tackle or foul his man. He failed, Mackie’s cross found Florian Kamberi, who likes a goal against Celtic, and the Swiss striker’s finish gave Gordon no chance.

From that moment, the game was gone. Celtic never looked like scoring.

It is difficult to watch Sinclair at the moment. I cannot recall any other player suffering such a dramatic loss of form. So, too, Jozo Simunovic who was all over the place the back. He seems devoid of confidence.,

Dedryck Boyata is a huge miss. Celtic need him back – and there is a chance he could leave in January – and hope Filip Benkovic remains for the rest of the season.

The 3-5-2 formation, forced on Brendan Rodgers, didn’t press intelligently, lacked pace, and that played straight into Hibs plans. The home side had room to play their passing game and any team will feel good about themselves after carving open the champions to score with less than a minute gone.

Steven Whittaker was beside his own corner flag and chose to play passes with Slivka instead of playing safe. With several Celtic players out of position and toiling to get back, Hibs passed the ball with accuracy and pace, Oli Shaw spotted Slivka had made a superb run into the box, he found him, the Lithuanian controlled cut inside a flailing Simunovic and planted his finish past Gordon

That was in 46 seconds. Plenty of time for Celtic to give themselves a shake. But they did little. Only Forrest of the outfield starting eleven played close to his normal level.

There were times when you found yourself counting how many players Hibs had on thee pitch. They always had an extra man no matter where the ball was.

They did everything better, at the back and up-front. Efe Ambrose, the one-time joke figure of Celtic, was immense.

The one moment of controversy came midway through the first-half when Ntcham’s pass over the top gave Odsonne Edouard a run at goal. The young Frenchman's timing was spot-on, but he was wrongly called back by the assistant’s flag. This happens far too many times.

Edouard is only 20 and because of Moussa Dembele’s departure and Leigh Griffiths’s problems, he has to had to play almost every minute. He looks shattered.

In saying that, his second half dive reeked of desperation. He was booked and rightly so.

Twice, Edouard didn’t react when the ball zipped clean through the Hibs six-yard box and that’s what a striker needs to do. He would do worse than watch clips of a certain Henrik Larsson who was always there to tap the ball home.

Celtic supporters have been spoiled, but they are now rightly concerned. The league is too tight, the teams behind them have improved and the last two transfer windows have taken the squad backwards.

Only Celtic could put their supporters thought so much angst while standing in such a strong position.