Brendan Rodgers' assistant Chris Davies has denied there is a rift between the management pair and the Celtic board after a troubled few weeks at Parkhead.
The Hoops were dumped out of the Champions League qualifiers this week amid disagreements with Dedryck Boyata and speculation that Rodgers has been at odds with the club's hierarchy over transfers.
But Davies, covering for Rodgers in his pre-match media duties ahead of the Scottish League Cup clash with Partick Thistle, for which the Hoops manager is not obligated to attend, insisted rumours of a rift were simply "not true".
"There is no fallout with the board," he said. "There are no deep fractures within the club. It's not there. Brendan is in dialogue with the board as ever. He's working closely with the board as always. He's fine. There is no issue.
"What's happened is that we've gone out to a team we've deserved to beat over two legs. We were the better team than AEK Athens, home and, but that can happen, and people are looking at it and trying to create one single narrative; 'there's been a fallout, Boyata, this has happened, that has happened'.
"It's not as simple as that. We all share responsibility. Brendan has made his point previously - that he wants the squad to be as strong as it can be - and we all want that. He's working and thinking about leading the team.
"What I can tell you now is that we won't let this negativity be created and start holding us back. What we've done over the last two years has been incredible in terms of domestic trophies, qualifying for the Champions League.
"We have been here two years and it's the first setback we've probably had. Brendan is dealing with it. We've had some negativity over the past few weeks but Brendan's dealt with that as a manager before.
"We as a club will come out of this strong and better. There's not a chance that this negativity will hold us back or stop us in any way. In football you have to be resilient, learn from your experiences and come back stronger, with optimism for the future - and that's exactly what we're going to do."