Martin O'Neill admits transfer uncertainty after LASK defeat
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill will await the impact of their Champions League failure on his transfer activity after admitting his squad is a “million miles” away from being complete.
O’Neill took responsibility for Celtic’s capitulation in Linz after they squandered a four-goal aggregate lead while going down 5-1 to LASK in the play-offs.
Celtic have now fallen short in their last six Champions League qualifying efforts following earlier defeats against Kairat Almaty, Midtjylland, Ferencvaros, Cluj and AEK Athens.
Having won 14 of the past 15 titles, the club should have the experience and knowledge to prepare properly for these ties, but they often appear ill-equipped for the games which offer the most lucrative rewards.
Celtic failed in Kazakhstan last season after failing to sign a proven striker to replace Kyogo Furuhashi during both the January and summer transfer windows.
This time round they fielded new arrivals Kasper Hogh and Camilo Duran up front, and the latter produced two superb finishes in the 3-0 first-leg win.
But the only other summer signings are Mika Baur, who got his first taste of Celtic Park when starting in the first leg, and Egypt winger Haissem Hassan, who only managed seven minutes of action over the two legs as he gets up to speed following his post-World Cup break.
When asked if the summer investment had been sufficient, O’Neill said: “The game comes pretty early for us in that sense.
“I’ve known this from the past, way back years ago, when we tried to qualify. Teams that you think you might be able to beat will cause you a problem.
“I think the Austrian side are a fine team. They’ve got pace, they’ve got a bit of strength, they’ve got a bit of power about them. But in all honesty, we should have seen it through.”
Celtic have targeted quality over quantity after losing a full team of players, including key midfielder Arne Engels days before the first leg.
But their lack of depth was exposed. Centre-back Liam Scales came on at left-back for Kieran Tierney and O’Neill had four central defenders on when a stoppage-time goal sparked extra-time.
There were no other defensive-minded midfielders to help Callum McGregor shore up the game. Instead, Luke McCowan came on and lost the ball before the decisive goal, and fellow sub Reo Hatate conceded a penalty which Viljami Sinisalo saved.
O’Neill said: “What these games show you is that we have a lot of work to do in that aspect.
“You can cover over cracks at certain stages, but overall these games are real tests. And unfortunately we failed that test.
“We know that we are a million miles from the finished article. That’s absolutely true. I think we thought that anyway, regardless.”
O’Neill admitted uncertainty over how the blow would impact Celtic’s transfer activity in the coming week.
“I said last week that if you could qualify for the Champions League, there would be players that would want to come on that very basis,” he added. “That’s not going to be the case, but we’ll see.”
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