Chris Sutton hasn’t pulled his punches when highlighting Celtic’s latest Champions League failure.
For the second consecutive season, Celtic have crashed out of Europe’s premier competition before they’re even in it. To make matters worse, they have now lost their last six qualifying matches in the competition, dating back to the 2018/2019 season.
LASK fully deserved the win – all the best to them as they embark on the Champions League for the first time in their history. But for the Hoops, it is another abject failure to add to the growing list of humiliations at this level.
Hammerings from Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, or Borussia Dortmund (to name a few) are one thing, but a 5-1 defeat to the Austrian champions is another glaring issue in itself.
But while the players bear much of the blame, and rightfully so, Sutton believes the rot starts from higher up within the club. Writing in his RecordSport column, the former Hoops striker said:
“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.
“And yet while all of that is true, it comes back to the deep-rooted problems that are constantly plaguing the club at this level.
“It’s no coincidence Celtic have now lost six Champions League qualifiers in a row. I don’t care how much it upsets them to hear it, but it’s mismanagement. How can it be anything else?
“Because for all the performance was woeful the other night, the underlining issues magnified it.”
There is one comment from Sutton’s former boss that he simply can’t shrug off, though.
“O’Neill himself admitted Celtic were ‘a million miles away from the finished article’. A million miles. With a week left in the window. That’s an astonishing admission”, Sutton added.
“The big question is why? Why are Celtic not closer to where they want to be going into one of the biggest – if not THE biggest – game of the season?
“It’s because yet again they have gone into a Champions League qualifier without the necessary tools. He won’t say it but he has been let down.”
Supporters had every right to feel positive after it seemed like a corner was being turned. Camilo Duran and Kasper Hogh have European experience, but realistically, more signings needed to be added swiftly to allow them the chance to settle in before the play-off. Mika Baur and Haissem Hassan arrived, but there was little time; Hassan not featuring in the second leg whatsoever shows that, given the Egyptian hadn’t had a pre-season under his belt.
Sutton rightfully highlights O’Neill’s ‘a million miles away’ comment. If this side are that far from Champions League level, then it is telling that the club were underprepared yet again for the most crucial games of the campaign.
The transfer window shuts on September 3, six days away at the time of writing. There are already murmurings that certain targets are unlikely to join – Sutton highlights another window where the pace of transfer activity has lacked.
O’Neill now has the difficult task of picking these players up for their Premiership match with Falkirk on Saturday. They have to dust themselves off and move on quickly, but supporters won’t.
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