I watched Celtic fall apart in Champions League - a result with huge implications amid transfer concerns

Martin O’Neill’s side took a three-goal advantage to Linz from the first leg and moved further ahead in the tie when captain Callum McGregor opened the scoring in Austria.

However, LASK roared back and Celtic capitulated. The hosts ate into the deficit and managed to force extra time with a 90th-minute goal and then land a winner in extra time.

The 5-1 defeat was one of Celtic’s worst results on the continent and the Scottish champions now drop into the Europa League - with severe ramifications.

Recruitment back under the microscope

Celtic signed four players prior to this Champions League qualifier, spending nearly £30 million in the process. The general feeling was that forwards Kasper Hogh and Camilo Duran were major upgrades, with the latter scoring twice in the first leg. Midfielder Mika Baur started in Linz, while winger Haissem Hassan was an unused substitute.

Duran was very quiet in the second leg and Hogh missed two presentable chances. Neither player covered themselves in glory. Hogh, in particular, would have been expected to score across the two legs given a club record fee of £11m was spent on him. Nevertheless, Celtic look a more offensive team for his presence than a year ago when they lost at this stage to Kairat Almaty without scoring a goal in 180 minutes of football. It is the lack of attention to the defensive sectors so far in this transfer window that is a major reason why Celtic aren’t in the Champions League.

The midfield remains light and too easily overrun by proficient opponents. And the back-four lacks any sort of depth. As a first-choice unit, Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty and Kieran Tierney might get you over the line. But their deputies - Colby Donovan, Anthony Ralston, Dane Murray and Liam Scales - simply can’t be relied upon to soak up pressure at this level.

Celtic ended the match with a defence of Ralston, Murray, Trusty and Scales. It is worth noting that before the season started, O’Neill confirmed to journalists that he was happy with his centre-half options - that sentiment may have altered now. Left-back, however, has been a major source of concern given Tierney’s fitness record. The injury to Johnston can be labelled unfortunate.

Behind them, Viljami Sinisalo hasn’t yet proven himself as a Champions League keeper. The Finn may have saved a penalty but will lament being beaten from distance twice by Samuel Adeniran. And in front of the back four, Celtic still need an enforcer in midfield - a type they have lacked for some years now and would have come in handy when LASK turned the taps on. The efforts of Luke McCowan to shore up the engine room were powderpuff.

Celtic only refitted the upstairs of their house. And that is why it came crashing down in Austria.

Mental and physical issues

Say what you like about ability, but to let a four-goal lead slip in less than an hour of football will invariably lead to questions about a team’s character.

McGregor said afterwards that Celtic were “scared” during the match. The fear of defending a four-goal lead is quite the accusation of a team that not so long ago mowed down Hearts to win the Premiership.

But the way Celtic checked out both mentally and physically is concerning. The team lost its way after a bright start and the errant pass from Benjamin Nygren to gift LASK their first goal stank of complacency. Celtic still had an opportunity to regroup at half time but restarted the match so sloppily. They lost their shape, conviction and cohesion.

There was also a worrying drop-off in fitness levels. On an energy-sapping playing surface, Celtic wilted while LASK kept pouring it on. Donovan, Tierney, Carter-Vickers and Baur couldn’t finish the match, although Carter-Vickers has slight mitigation due to a recent Achilles injury. But Celtic simply didn’t look physically equipped for this assignment.

The coaching staff

O’Neill and his coaches have been rightly praised for their work at Celtic over the past ten months - but this is a serious blot on their copybooks.

O’Neill took full responsibility for the match afterwards and that is right. He and his assistant Shaun Maloney were completely unable to change the flow of the game once LASK found some momentum.

The decision to bring on centre-half Murray at right-back for Donovan rather than a more natural replacement in Ralston was eye-catching. Hassan was left on the bench - although he’s probably a man for the attacking occasion, not the trenches. Would the experience of James Forrest have been handy? We’ll never know. He was unstripped too. There appeared to be few major tactical and shape tweaks. Celtic simply couldn’t stem the tide.

What next?

Celtic Park will be an interesting place on Saturday when Falkirk visit on Premiership duty. By that point, Celtic will know their Europa League draw.

Celtic spent the night in their Linz hotel as they were not permitted to fly home due to Austrian aviation regulations. A lot of soul-searching will no doubt have taken place from all concerned, from board level to the players.

Interim chairman Brian Wilson had done a reasonable job in quelling some of the fan ire directed towards the board room, but after what happened in Austria, he and his fellow directors can expect heat from the supporters over recruitment. Disharmony addled Celtic last year and this result unfortunately has the potential to do so again.

At 74-years-old and having just recovered from a medical issue, O’Neill will need to rouse himself and those around him. This was as sore a night as any of his Celtic tenures.

Financially, Celtic went from a £40m bounty to less than a quarter of that in an hour or so. That will have consequences for what the club does for the rest of the transfer window. Plan A is unlikely to be followed now.

There may be departures, too. The carrot of Champions League football may have kept the likes of Johnston and Nygren sweet for another few months. Now they may have eyes on elsewhere. There remains concern that captain McGregor, after changing his agent last summer, may seek a new challenge in Saudi Arabia. A loss like this doesn’t help that situation either.

The defeat, and the manner of it, has wide-reaching implications for the future of Celtic - some of which will only become truly apparent over the next few weeks. After a couple of steps forward, it is several back the way for a club that proved it simply isn’t capable of operating in the Champions League, a competition it reached the knock-out stages of less than two years ago.