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‘I’m responsible’ - Martin O’Neill accepted full blame after Celtic suffered a remarkable collapse against LASK and were knocked out of Champions League qualifying. The Scottish giants let slip a commanding 4-0 aggregate advantage before going down 5-1 in the second leg after extra time, missing out on the league phase for the second successive season.

LASK complete stunning comeback

Celtic squandered a dominant 4-0 aggregate lead as LASK produced a ruthless comeback to send the Scottish champions out of Champions League qualifying. Callum McGregor’s early goal in Austria appeared to have put qualification beyond doubt after the 3-0 first-leg victory, but strikes from Moses Usor, Robert Ljubicic, Samuel Adeniran and Florian Flecker forced the tie into extra time. Adeniran then scored again in the 105th minute to complete an extraordinary 5-4 aggregate victory.

Early exit damages recruitment

O’Neill admitted that failing to reach the league phase for a second year running is a huge setback and one that directly harms the club’s ability to attract new signings.

Speaking about his side’s second-half collapse, he said: “We know we are a million miles away from the finished article; that’s absolutely true. We thought that anyway, regardless. But we felt that if we qualified for the Champions League, there would be players that would be wanting to come on that very basis. That’s not going to be the case. But we’ll see.

“When I see that we’re short – and maybe talking about a million miles away – we played brilliantly the other night, brilliantly in the game; they [LASK] were a fine side too, scored some brilliant goals. And we came up well and truly short – particularly in the second half.”

Manager shoulders total blame

LASK were completely on top throughout, firing 40 attempts at the Celtic goal worth 4.8 expected goals (xG) and producing 10 big chances. Celtic offered almost nothing in return, recording only eight shots and just 0.5 xG across 120 minutes.

Looking back on the collapse, O’Neill added: “I’m responsible for this one. Without a doubt. Naturally, it took me a long time to get over the UEFA Cup final in 2003, but this was majorly disappointing. In the context of things, one was a final which it would have been terrific to win; this was a qualifying game which we should have been able to get through.”

Bhoys seek domestic redemption

Celtic must now quickly regroup for the Europa League league phase while trying to recover psychologically before returning to domestic action this weekend. O’Neill now has the immediate job of tightening up an alarming defence and rebuilding confidence in a dressing room that has taken a major hit. The Celtic board also face a crucial final period of the transfer window as they look to strengthen the squad and defend the league title they won last season.