Celtic's Brutal Collapse in Austria: Lessons from the Defeat

Celtic’s collapse in Austria was brutal. The numbers tell part of the story – a 5-1 defeat by LASK, a four-goal aggregate lead thrown away, Champions League dreams gone and the Europa League looming instead. The rest came from the voices of those who know the club best, and they did not hold back.

“Those players were hiding”

Stiliyan Petrov has lived nights of high European pressure under Martin O’Neill. He recognised what was missing instantly – and said it out loud.

“You have to stand up and be counted, show character, be able to deal with the pressure,” he told 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, he argued, didn’t just lose their shape. They lost their identity.

“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.”

The criticism cut straight to the heart of it: desire, leadership, responsibility. On a night when everything was on the line, Celtic looked short in every department that cannot be measured on a stat sheet.

Lennon questions physical and mental strength

Neil Lennon, another former Celtic captain and manager, saw the same failings – and added a damning verdict on the team’s conditioning.

“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.”

The images in the second half disturbed him.

“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.”

Celtic weren’t just being outplayed. They were being outrun and outlasted, with a Champions League place on the line.

Brown points to a thin bench

As the game unravelled and went the distance, Martin O’Neill turned to his bench. Liam Scales, Anthony Ralston, Dane Murray, Luke McCowan, Reo Hatate and Sebastian Tounekti all came on over the 120 minutes. The injection of energy never came.

Scott Brown, who captained Celtic through countless high-pressure nights, felt the substitutions exposed a deeper structural issue.

“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.”

The message was clear: this wasn’t just a bad night. In Brown’s eyes, it was the consequence of a squad that has not been strengthened to the level required for this stage.

Schmeichel warns of “huge ramifications”

Kasper Schmeichel has felt this pain before. He was in goal for Celtic in last season’s play-off defeat and knows exactly what dropping out of the Champions League means.

“This is going to have huge ramifications,” the former Celtic goalkeeper 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 matters. The recruitment impact matters. But the mood around the club, the anger in the stands and the pressure in the dressing room, will define the next few weeks.

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

For Martin O’Neill, this was not just another defeat. It cut deeper than almost anything he has experienced in more than 300 games as Celtic manager.

Asked if the collapse from 4-0 up was 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 praised LASK, but refused to hide behind that.

“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 manager accepted the blame. The questions about depth, recruitment and where this squad goes next will not wait long.

McGregor: “We got what we deserved”

On the pitch, captain Callum McGregor fronted up. There was no attempt to dress it up as a freak result.

“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.”

The Champions League door has slammed shut again. The Europa League awaits, along with the fallout. Now Celtic’s season hangs on the answer to McGregor’s blunt final line: what kind of characters are really in that dressing room?