Celtic return to scene of Champions League crime with more firepower but bigger challenge

You would have got big odds 12 months ago of the 74-year-old having another crack at reaching European football’s centre stage, more than 21 years on from his last appearance there, a goalless draw at home to AC Milan on December 7, 2004.

Nothing should really surprise us with O’Neill any more and he is relishing the challenge of guiding Celtic beyond LASK in the Champions League play-offs. These ties always hold significance given the prestige and money on offer - but there is even more symbolism for the Scottish outfit given what happened last term.

The ghost of Kairat Almaty still haunts Celtic. Losing to the Kazakhs on penalties after two excruciating goalless draws set a sombre tone to the season. While the club managed to win the Premiership and the Scottish Cup, their success was played out under the spectre of fan discontentment and at times ghoulish results. Brendan Rodgers resigned, Wilfried Nancy was sacked. The powers of O’Neill were resurrected not once but twice to get Celtic over the line.

Flunked recruitment was mooted by many as the major factor for not overcoming Kairat. There is no doubt Celtic could have done more transfer business this summer but four players have been bought for more than £25 million. Crucially, there is a Champions League-proven No 9 in Kasper Hogh, supplemented by fellow forwards Camilo Duran and Haissem Hassan. Midfielder Mika Baur has also come in. The quartet could have a big part to play over these two games.

The challenge, however, is greater than Kairat. LASK are the Austrian champions and are a dangerous proposition. They are a club on an upward trajectory and while Celtic are favourites to progress, there was no air of over-confidence from O’Neill ahead of the match.

“With respect to Kairat Almaty, from what I saw last year, I think this tie will be more difficult,” said the manager. “They are very big and strong. Their set piece are very good, they take long throws and get the ball in the box. They have a bit of pace with the two boys up front, who are really decent.

“The main striker [Samuel Adeniran] is a big, strong boy. We have to deal with that. I’m not playing it down, this will be difficult.”

The draw could have been kinder, not least because the second leg will take place in Linz on Tuesday. While Celtic look a stronger outfit than 12 months ago, so too do LASK in comparison to Kairat, who lost in the third qualifying round earlier this month,

“I feel Celtic should really have gone through last year,” continued O’Neill, who was working as a TV pundit on that fateful night in Almaty. “That’s the feeling with the group of players we still have. There was massive disappointment because they failed to score a goal over the two legs. I knew it would be very disappointing for the club because I think over the two matches it's the one draw that you would have taken.

“Do I think we are better equipped as a football club now? I think there are more goals in the team now than last season. That is absolutely the case. We are capable of scoring more goals. We might draw a blank in both matches, but it won’t stop me from feeling we are capable of scoring some goals.”

Two out of three ain’t bad

O’Neill managed to navigate two final Champions League qualifiers during his first spell at Parkhead between 2000 and 2005, taking down Dutch giants Ajax and Hungarian minnows MTK. Somewhere in the middle was Basel in 2002, the Swiss side ousting Celtic on away goals. Such has been the Northern Irishman’s lengthy absence from this arena, that rule has long since been abolished.

O’Neill never managed to take Celtic to the knock-out stages. A 2001/02 campaign with saw Celtic finish on nine points, but wasn’t enough to see them through. It still rankles, particularly a late penalty award to Juventus.

“You start to look back on the little things,” said O’Neill. “The penalty in the last minute at Juventus wasn’t remotely a penalty. It wasn’t even a foul. We would have made it through and it would have been lovely to have got there. It is what it is, I guess. It would have been nice.

“In terms of now and having a chance of doing it, well, we could get dumped out in this round.”

The prospect isn’t worth thinking about. Celtic’s strong start to the season domestically and the releasing of cash into the transfer market has calmed some of the fan ire. But the situation remains precarious. And this is the last time for a while the champions of Celtic enter at the play-off round. From next season, there are three qualifiers to navigate.

It was less than two years ago that Celtic were in the knock-out stages giving Bayern Munich a run for their money. Their 2024/25 campaign suggested this was a club equipped to take the step up in Europe. A malnourishment at recruitment level after cashing in on assets and general underperformance were the key ingredients for the botched job last season. Taking down Kairat should have been achieved. It wasn’t - and that set Celtic back.

LASK, who signed St Mirren defender Miguel Freckleton during the close season, offer a far sterner proposition. Their manager Dietmar Kuhbauer tapped into the pressure on Celtic.

“We believe in ourselves,” he said. “Celtic have a little bit more pressure because everybody knows Celtic. We are a small club, but still a good club. But for Celtic, it’s more pressure than for us. We have a very strong team, but anything can happen. Our task is to play a good game so we have a chance at our stadium to go to the Champions League.”

Celtic could do with taking a lead to Austria and have to battle a fairly wretched piece of history, having only won two of their past nine final qualification matches across all European competitions. “It won't be easy for us,” added O’Neill. “And that's not playing it up or down. It just won't be.”