Last night was a disaster on several levels for Celtic, who have had more than their fair share of disappointing nights in Europe. Watching the second half, you could see the team sleepwalking into another nightmare European result. Yes, we have lost to worse teams in the past, but I think there is a strong case to say that this was Celtic’s worst ever result, all things considered.
The mentality of the team
Firstly give credit to LASK. Their mentality was strong all week. From the comments in the press to the fans getting behind their team in the stadium, they believed they could turn the tie around and Celtic gave them all the encouragement in the world to do so. There is quite clearly a mentality issue at the club that has spanned several teams and several managers. Domestically, they find was to keep going until the last minute, but in Europe they find new ways to self destruct.
The club have failed us once again
The level of player coming off the bench last night was terrible. Each substitution made us weaker than before. Most fans would have agreed before the match that the squad depth was extremely poor and needed a major rebuild in the summer. The likes of Tounekti, McCowan, Ralston and Murray shouldn’t wear the Celtic shirt again. They are miles off the level that the club needs to move forward.
Engels and Maeda being allowed to leave before the qualifier is another example of the squad mismanagement we see year after year. If you want to ensure that new players are bedded in for the qualifiers, then you need to do your business in January - not weeks before the biggest game of the season. Everything from the club seems extremely last minute. As Rodgers famously said, the club manufactures its own stress. This just has to change.
O’Neill deserves criticism
It’s not all on the board though. Celtic clearly had enough on the pitch to get the job done last night. Hogh, Nygren and Duran were awful, but taking off Nygren seemed a strange decision at the time. Withdrawing the club’s major goal threat when we needed a goal to kill the tie didn’t make sense. The level of game management we saw from O’Neill during the 120 minutes only invited more pressure onto the players. Bringing on Tounektii and McCowan did nothing to stem the relentless attacks. With both giving the ball away constantly, we knew these players are not at the level needed, yet we keep relying on them in the big games. Why? Forrest, Osmand and Hassan were options that could have taken the pressure off further up the field. The squad went into its biggest games of the season underprepared again. Yet the manager did not manage the game well with the options available. It was as if the team were just waiting to concede and management didn’t have the necessary answers.
This HAS to be the catalyst for real change
This cycle of ownership has to end. The club needs fresh leadership, fresh ideas and drive. Until the current structure is replaced, we will face the same hurdles each year at qualifiers. How many times does the squad go into these games under prepared, willing to gamble everything? This is a strategic decision by those running the club. It’s a choice they make each year. The club is not set up to thrive on these occasions, and the negativity seeps into the performances every single year. Until the club injects fresh leadership and fresh thinking, we will see the same results every August. The time for change is now. This is the worst result in the club’s history, all things considered. Now it must be the catalyst for real, meaningful change.