A disused rail line still has more points than Celtic. This latest profitless exercise, against opponents tipped as relegation contenders, not only left the Parkhead side's entry ledger blank, but has left them on the bottom of the Premier Division. It is not what the club's vast following expected to see - and certainly not what the Dutchman, Wim Jansen, envisaged when he took the job as head coach - after the opening two league matches.

The feebleness of Celtic's play and their apparent inability to communicate with one another, either in thought, word or deed, is a serious cause of concern for Jansen. He smiles easily and speaks placidly even in the face of such set-backs, but the coach's demeanour surely conceals a deep anxiety.

With St Johnstone to be met in Perth in the League Cup on Tuesday and Tirol Innsbruck in the UEFA Cup a week after that, only significant improvement will prevent elimination from two competitions before August is out.

It was perhaps Jansen's misfortune that left-back Stephane Mahe, the most promising of all his signings, should miss this match through injury. Celtic were also without their central defender Alan Stubbs, although there are plenty who subscribe to the view that the former Bolton man is no great loss.

Jansen was particularly wounded by the team's reaction to conceding the equaliser in the first minute of the second half, having led through Andreas Thom's penalty six minutes before the interval. "It was the same when we lost the first leg of the UEFA Cup match 2-1 in Innsbruck," said Jansen. "When they conceded the equaliser, they started to run out of a shape.

"If we continue to play like that, what happened against Dunfermline will continue to happen again and again. We have to coach each other and be more helpful to each other."

There were times, however, when the prosaic attempts of Malky Mackay and Tom Boyd in defence appeared beyond help. Regi Blinker, brought from Sheffield Wednesday, and Henrik Larsson from Feyenoord, flatter without having the strength to make a telling impact. It is, admittedly, early days for them.

Celtic had been fortunate to lead in the first place, as Dunfermline had been denied a clear penalty two minutes before Celtic's - itself a soft award - was converted.

But David Bingham's controlled low shot to equalise and Hamish French's drilled penalty kick 30 minutes later - this was also the result of a bad refereeing decision, but helped right the previous injustice - ensured that the deserving side won.

Now Tuesday's Cup tie with St Johnstone is a Premier Division top versus bottom affair. That's not what Celtic fans expected, either.