Celtic's Transfer Challenges Exposed After LASK Tie

Callum McGregor did not bother dressing it up. Celtic’s captain walked away from Linz knowing a 4-0 first-leg lead had crumbled and that, for all the summer spending, this squad is still short.

The club have pushed close to £30million on Kasper Hogh, Camilo Duran, Haissem Hassan and Mika Baur in this window. Big numbers, big expectations. Yet as the Champions League tie against LASK staggered to its grim conclusion, the XI on the pitch told a different story.

Liam Scales finished the night at left-back. Dane Murray and Anthony Ralston were patched into a makeshift defence. Luke McCowan came on to bolster a tiring midfield. Sebastian Tounekti ended the game out on the left flank. It looked more like an improvised cup line-up than a side trying to see out a place at Europe’s top table.

McGregor, speaking to BBC Sport Scotland, backed the recruitment so far but did not hide from what the finale exposed.

“I think we signed well,” he said when asked if Celtic had done enough in the market before the tie. “Then when you look at the team that finished the game – Scalesy playing at left-back, etc – then there's still little bits we still need to move forward.”

The captain was careful not to turn it into a shopping list or a public demand for a new full-back.

“That's not me pinning the blame on anyone else because this is a tie we go 4-0 up in, so by no means is this me saying we need a left-back. That's not the case.

“But then, every squad wants to be as strong as it possibly can be, and have cover and good players in every position so we're always pushing each other.”

That is the balance Celtic now have to strike. Eight days remain before the transfer window closes. The bulk of the money has already gone on attacking talent and creative options, yet the final minutes in Austria underlined where the depth thins out and where Martin O'Neill’s group can be stretched.

The message from the dressing room is clear enough. The core is strong, the signings are promising, but the margins at Champions League level are brutal. Celtic have learned that the hard way. The question now is whether the board act quickly enough in the last week of the window to make sure they do not learn it again.