Celtic's European Collapse: A Failure of Desire and Leadership
Celtic’s European collapse in Austria has been branded a failure of desire, leadership and depth by some of the club’s most decorated former players, after Martin O’Neill’s side tossed away a four-goal aggregate lead and crashed out of the Champions League play-off with a 5-1 defeat to LASK.
From 4-0 up in the tie to Europa League. The swing was brutal.
“Those players were hiding”
Stiliyan Petrov, who knows O’Neill’s standards better than most from their time together at Celtic and Aston Villa, did not soften a single word.
“You have to stand up and be counted, show character, be able to deal with the pressure,” he said on Amazon Prime. “Those players were hiding.
“When they had to take responsibility with the ball, they didn’t take it. They were losing the ball very easily. LASK were better in second balls, more aggressive. They wanted it more.
“Celtic try to dominate games and be in control. But there was nothing there. They couldn’t take the sting out the game, they couldn’t slow the game down.
“Sometimes you need big players to do that. You need players to control that, control the team. You have to stand up, be brave and be strong.
“You have to run more, you have to close people down, you have to make decisions on the pitch, important decisions and important moments that make the difference. Those decisions were not there.”
Petrov’s words cut to the core: Celtic didn’t just lose their shape. They lost their nerve.
Lennon questions physicality and mentality
Neil Lennon, another former Celtic captain and manager, turned his fire on the team’s physical level. For him, this was not just a bad night. It was a worrying sign.
“Physically they weren’t up to it, running power they weren’t up to it,” said the Dunfermline manager. “LASK were the better team and they wanted it more, and that’s not something you can say about a Martin O’Neill team very often.”
Then came the image that alarmed him most.
“Second half I saw three or four players go down with cramp. It’s only 65-70 minutes into the game. That’s a worry for me.
“It could be a physical thing, it could be a psychological thing. For me it’s a sign of not being strong. They looked exhausted at times.”
On a night when Celtic needed to show power and resilience, they instead looked drained and fragile.
Brown points at the bench
As the game slipped away and the tie drifted into extra time, O’Neill turned to his bench. Liam Scales, Anthony Ralston, Dane Murray, Luke McCowan, Reo Hatate and Sebastian Tounekti all came on across the 120 minutes.
For Scott Brown, another former Celtic captain, that in itself told a story about the squad’s construction — and the lack of impact from those introduced.
“I don’t think the subs made any impact on the game,” Brown told BBC Radio Scotland. “You want something from them – running power, a bit of calmness on the ball – and we didn’t get that.
“They are bringing players in that are actually in the starting 11 but it shows you, on that bench, they need better quality players to come on.”
The message was blunt: if these are the players being asked to change a Champions League play-off, the squad is short of the level required.
Schmeichel warns of “huge ramifications”
Kasper Schmeichel, who lived last season’s play-off disappointment in a Celtic shirt, recognised the scale of the damage instantly. For him, this was not just about one bad night. It was about what comes next.
“This is going to have huge ramifications,” he said on Amazon Prime. “The Champions League is unique and the Europa League doesn’t have the same prestige. It impacts players’ lives and particularly the players that maybe we were looking to sign, that could have an impact on it.
“I know it’s going to be a really, really hard reaction towards the players, towards the management.
“It’s going to be a monumental task for them to motivate themselves and to get the fans back on side. Because you saw at the end, it wasn’t pleasant scenes. And we saw what happened last season, it’s not pleasant. And it’s not pleasant to be a player in that environment either.”
The financial hit, the recruitment implications, the mood around the club — all of it, Schmeichel suggested, will now be shaped by this collapse.
O’Neill: “That’s my team and that’s my responsibility”
If anyone hoped O’Neill would deflect or dilute the criticism, they were quickly disabused. The 74-year-old, now beyond 300 games in charge of Celtic, ranked the night among his very worst.
“I would say absolutely, yes,” he said when asked if it was one of his most painful evenings. “I’d put it down before the disappointment of losing the Uefa Cup final in 2003, but it’s so, so disappointing.
“We should have been out of sight by half-time. We scored a goal, which was great, we missed two great, great opportunities. And then we give them a lifeline just before half-time and then one just after it. And they come roaring back.
“And obviously we conceded, from our viewpoint, not good goals at all. But that’s my team and that’s my responsibility.”
The key moments were clear in his mind: missed chances at one end, lifelines handed out at the other, and a LASK side that refused to let Celtic off the hook.
When pressed on whether his squad is strong enough, O’Neill kept his counsel for another day.
“These are tough games. And it might only be a Champions League qualifying game, but it felt like a Champions League game. I thought they were a fine side. But that doesn’t matter. We should have been able to have seen it through. And we didn’t do. Talking about the squad, that’s for another day.”
McGregor: “We got what we deserved”
On the pitch, captain Callum McGregor did not try to sugarcoat anything. His assessment matched the anger in the stands.
“We got what we deserved,” he told Amazon Prime. “I thought we were so passive. All night. We actually looked scared to go and win the game, and when you are 3-0 up it’s psychological.
“To be honest I didn’t think we were that good in the first leg either. We scored at good times and kind of got away with it. You go 3-0 and you think you’ve got a real chance but when you play like that you can’t have any excuse whatsoever.
“We have to suck it up, apologise to the supporters and the club because there is no way that we should lose that game … Now you’ll see what kind of characters are in there.”
From Petrov’s fury to Lennon’s concern, from Brown’s doubts over depth to Schmeichel’s warning about the future, one theme ran through every verdict: this was not just a defeat, it was a test of what Celtic are made of.
Now the Champions League is gone. The Europa League awaits. And as McGregor hinted, the real examination starts here: who in that dressing room is ready to answer it?
