Tony Mowbray will face the wrath of the Celtic support tomorrow when the club hosts its AGM. Last night's Co-Operative Cup defeat by Hearts was the fourth home defeat of the season for the new Celtic boss with goodwill and patience wearing thin among fans.

A small group of mainly teenage supporters gathered outside the main door last night chanting "Sack the board" but they were outnumbered by the police keeping a careful eye on developments.

Tomorrow's AGM will give a broader selection of the support a chance to express their views, and although these events are notoriously stage managed there are bound to be some probing criticisms of the directors and manager.

Almost anyone would have been welcomed as replacement for Gordon Strachan by the supporters after the dismal end to last season, but despite the wave of goodwill for Mowbray he has failed to impress in the job.

His public criticism of the players has become predictable and is unlikely to provoke a response from a dressing room still hurting from losing last season's title despite starting the new year with a seven-point advantage over Rangers.

Celtic have won just once in their last six matches and could be knocked out of their third competition of the season next week if they lose at Hamburg in the Europa League.

On its own, last night's defeat could have been shrugged aside but it follows a depressing pattern of home results and was against a Hearts side that has won just two league games out of nine and sit eight places below Celtic in the SPL table.

A penalty from former Manchester United midfielder Michael Stewart in the 58th minute decided the match with Celtic skipper Stephen McManus red carded in stoppage time for a horror foul on Hearts' Andy Driver.

Substitutes Paddy McCourt and Georgios Samaras did strike the woodwork in the second half but there was a lack of purpose to Celtic's play despite having the vast majority of possession.

Aiden McGeady never hid from taking responsibility but with a lack of options to pass the ball to was left frustrated as the Hearts defence crowded him out.

McCourt, Samaras and Scott McDonald were thrown on in the second half to replace Shaun Maloney, Chris Killen and Zheng Zhi, but regardless of the players Celtic are finding it difficult to score goals. Despite the defeat and the loss of the only trophy won last season, Mowbray claimed that there had been signs of encouragement from his team's performance.

The Celtic boss said: "In a strange sort of way you can almost enjoy trying to prove people wrong, I know that we will in the long run.

"I could see the signs tonight. I can see the seeds, we will keep doing what we believe in and I know that we will have success in the end.

"We're on a journey. I'm three and a half months into the job and enjoying it in a strange sort of way, I enjoy working with the players.

"I thrive on coming in and trying to make the team function. The players are disappointed to get knocked out of the cup but there were enough positives to know that we have to keep building on what we saw."

- Joe McHugh