Celtic hero Chris Sutton insists Brendan Rodgers still has everything to prove during his second spell in charge.
The Scottish champions have lost their last two league outings, against Kilmarnock and Hearts, leading to their gap at the top of the table being cut to two points.
Sutton recently claimed the 50-year-old was "going through the motions" which lead to the Hoops manager responding stating that was not the case.
But the ex-Parkhead striker feels Rodgers has to get more out of his players.
Writing in the Daily Record, he said: "Brendan Rodgers says he’s never gone through the motions.
"Fair enough. He has every right to defend himself and his record at Celtic first time around suggested he was right on point then.
"But the past only gets you so far. I can only base my comments honestly on gut feeling from what he’s saying, my own instincts and call what I see at this moment in time.
"And, right now, there’s not enough coming from Rodgers and his team. They’ve been sleepwalking in too many games.
"Rodgers spoke about a lack of desire and passion after the loss to Hearts. As the manager, that’s on him."
And while Sutton can understand the Northern Irishman's frustrations, he feels the comments after the recent defeat to Steven Naismith's side did not reflect well on the Parkhead boss.
"There are certain things outwith the control of a boss during a season and variables you cannot legislate for such as injuries to important players," he continued.
"But one thing a manager can control is the side’s attitude and Rodgers’ admissions last weekend were stark and, if I’m being totally honest, didn’t reflect well on him.
"He said key traits were missing from the first whistle. So what did he say or not say in the dressing room pre-match for them to start like that?
"Now Rodgers is talking about feeling negativity when he first returned. I actually felt he had the backing of most people for having the courage to come back in the first place.
"Some dissenters, yes. But results get rid of them. What Ange Postecoglou inherited two years previously was a shambles and Celtic were in far-worse shape when Rodgers took over from Ronny Deila.
"This time around, he started from a position of strength. Lack of quality is one thing. But Celtic were outrun, outfought and outbattled at Rugby Park.
"That’s not acceptable. The team has regressed and Rodgers sounds like he’s stuck.
"Look at the points dropped already this season. Maybe he thought it would be easy this time round?"
The former Premier League winner also feels there is a lack of urgency in Celtic's current performances.
And Sutton insists this must improve for things to get back on track.
He added: "Singling out certain players for praise tells the ones not mentioned they aren’t up to scratch, yet many are from the previous regime who responded to Postecoglou.
"Rodgers has been back long enough to expect a tune out of those players. He’s signed others, yet doesn’t seem to rate them.
"There was a pace, a fluency and a speed under Postecoglou that’s evidently not there now.
"You only have to look at Kyogo Furuhashi to see the drop off. He’s gone from terrorising defenders to barely getting a kick."
