Celtic's Collapse in Austria: A Brutal Defeat

Celtic’s collapse in Austria was not just a defeat. It was an accusation.

From 4-0 up on aggregate and seemingly strolling into the Champions League group stage, Martin O’Neill’s side disintegrated, losing 5-1 to LASK and tumbling into the Europa League. The scoreline was brutal. The verdict from those who know the club best was even harsher.

“Those players were hiding”

Stiliyan Petrov has lived the demands of a Martin O’Neill dressing room. On Amazon Prime, he didn’t bother softening the blow.

“You have to stand up and be counted, show character, be able to deal with the pressure,” he said. “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.”

That, for Celtic, is the unthinkable accusation: they were outfought.

Petrov’s criticism went beyond effort. It was about control, or the complete lack of it.

“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.”

On a night when Celtic needed calm heads and clear thinking, Petrov saw panic and drift.

Lennon questions Celtic’s power

Neil Lennon, another former captain and manager, went straight for the physical side of the failure.

“Physically they weren’t up to it, running power they weren’t up to it,” he said. “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.”

The current Dunfermline manager watched Celtic wilt as the game wore on and saw something deeply troubling.

“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.”

Cramp at 70 minutes in a season-defining tie. For Lennon, that spoke of more than just tired legs.

Brown turns spotlight on the bench

If the starting XI cracked, the reinforcements did nothing to hold the line.

Across 120 draining minutes, Celtic turned to Liam Scales, Anthony Ralston, Dane Murray, Luke McCowan, Reo Hatate and Sebastian Tounekti. The injection of energy and quality never came.

Scott Brown, yet another former Celtic captain, felt the problem stretched beyond one bad night.

“I don’t think the subs made any impact on the game,” he 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.”

For Brown, the bench exposed the wider squad. When the tie caught fire, Celtic had no one to change its course.

Schmeichel warns of “huge ramifications”

The fallout will not be confined to bruised pride.

Kasper Schmeichel, who lived through last season’s play-off failure in the same colours, knows what this stage means to players and clubs.

“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.”

From recruitment plans to dressing-room mood, Schmeichel sees damage that will linger long after the scoreline fades from the screen.

O’Neill: “That’s my team and that’s my responsibility”

For Martin O’Neill, a manager who has taken charge of more than 300 Celtic games, this one cut deeper than most.

Asked if it ranked among his most painful nights, the 74-year-old did not hesitate.

“I would say absolutely, yes,” he said. “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.”

He refused to hide behind the quality of the opposition or the quirks of a qualifying tie.

“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.”

The inquest into depth and recruitment can wait. The wound is still too raw.

McGregor: “We got what we deserved”

On the pitch, captain Callum McGregor saw no room for excuses.

“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.”

That is where Celtic stand now. Out of the Champions League, stripped bare in front of their own, and facing a Europa League campaign with their mentality, fitness and depth all under the microscope.

The next 90 minutes they play will not just be about three points. They will be about who in that dressing room is willing to stand up when the pressure comes again.