Celtic's Champions League exit in Austria was an abject failure from top to bottom, with no one escaping blame for the almighty cock-up. Manager Martin O'Neill took the hit for what happened in Linz, an admirable move given the respect he commands, but some of the tactics, set-up and substitutions can only be described as odd.
It's clear this is not the same O'Neill this time around. He is constantly having to front up and fight fires, and more often than not he has been a peacemaker in public. He might have got it wrong on the night but he was also badly let down by the players.
Captain's admission more damning than any pundit's words
Callum McGregor admitted the side looked 'scared' to go and win the game, which was more damning than anything any pundit could say. It is the captain pretty much saying they bottled it. There is no real argument when a team has blown a four-goal lead with an hour or so to go.
There were huge problems on the pitch. The game plan went to pot, Celtic played into LASK's hands and there were alarming issues regarding their fitness. Giving up 40 shots was ridiculous.
Six consecutive qualifying defeats point to mismanagement
While all of that is true, it comes back to the deep-rooted problems that are constantly plaguing the club at this level. It is no coincidence Celtic have now lost six Champions League qualifiers in a row. It is mismanagement. How can it be anything else?
O'Neill himself admitted Celtic were 'a million miles away from the finished article'. A million miles with a week left in the window is an astonishing admission. The big question is why are Celtic not closer to where they want to be going into one of the biggest games of the season?
It is because yet again they have gone into a Champions League qualifier without the necessary tools. I have been battered for consistently saying Arne Engels and Daizen Maeda should not have been sold until after these games. I stand by it. Celtic refused to punt the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Moussa Dembele until after qualifiers in the past, so why has there been a change to now being willing to let them out the door?
Board must take responsibility for squad planning
I disagree with O'Neill saying he couldn't keep Engels because of the injury risks seen with the likes of Alistair Johnston and Youssef Chermiti. West Ham were sniffing around when Engels was man of the match against Kilmarnock. He should have been told he's not for sale for another few weeks.
What are Celtic doing? Are the board and O'Neill sitting around a table and taking a vote on this stuff? Hands up who thinks we should sell. There's no chance O'Neill's hand would have went up. He told them publicly he didn't have a player with that profile for such a huge game against a very physical team. And then if he was overruled then there had to be a replacement lined up. He won't say it but he has been let down.
I'm not saying Engels would have ran the show against LASK – but Celtic would have had a better chance with him in the side. As it was they were left with a midfield that got brushed aside time and time again. Benjamin Nygren and Mika Baur are both technical players. They are not going to be pressing or counter pressing. They are not going to be scrapping for second balls – despite Celtic inexplicably lumping the ball up to Kasper Hogh all night.
Then you look at the personnel on the pitch by the end of the match. No disrespect to some of these players but this was a £40m play-off. Cameron Carter-Vickers and Kieran Tierney not lasting 90 minutes shouldn't be a surprise given their injury histories. It was inevitable they would need shoring up late on to see the game out.
Instead, Celtic had Dane Murray coming on at right back at first, Liam Scales at left back, and then Anthony Ralston on for extra-time. Luke McCowan has been harshly made into a bit of a scapegoat by fans online but he should never have been in that situation, having to come on to rescue a Champions League campaign. The fact he was needed points back to the overriding fact that Celtic once again went into this match badly lacking in key areas.
New signings only bare minimum as anger threatens to turn to apathy
The board were lavished with praise for signing Hogh and Camilo Duran, and maybe rightly so. They look like good signings. But they were also the bare minimum. They were replacements for players who left. Baur could be another decent one in, as should Haissem Hassan. But those two landed barely a week before the LASK tie. Baur doesn't have the profile to replace Engels and Hassan wasn't fit enough to even get off the bench the other night.
There's no point blaming agents, selling clubs, transfer fees, or even the media for not getting deals done. Yet again Celtic have been too slow in getting the players in they needed for such a significant test. I get quantity over quality – but they needed more quality. The proof was on the pitch the other night. Supporters don't want to hear more excuses or apologies – they are sick to the back teeth with those.
There's bound to be a massive mood swing again with the feel good factor from the start to the domestic season up in smoke and we'll need to see if there's a return to the mass protests of last term. I'm not sure fans even have the stomach for all that again and at some stage the anger might turn to apathy at watching Celtic paying the price for making the same old stupid mistakes over and over again.
