Celtic's Champions League Hopes Crumble in Linz

Callum McGregor did not try to dress it up. Celtic’s captain walked out of Linz knowing his team’s Champions League hopes had crumbled – and that the squad, as it stands, is not yet ready for where the club wants to go.

A makeshift Celtic side staggered over the line of their tie against LASK, the early 4-0 advantage shredded and the final stages exposing the thinness of Martin O'Neill’s options. When the pressure rose, the depth wasn’t there.

By the end, the back line looked like something thrown together on a training pitch rather than a Champions League night. Liam Scales finished the game at left-back. Dane Murray and Anthony Ralston were drafted in to help hold things together. Luke McCowan came on to bolster the midfield. Sebastian Tounekti was asked to carry the threat on the left flank.

This after a summer in which Celtic have spent the bulk of £30 million on Kasper Hogh, Camilo Duran, Haissem Hassan and Mika Baur. Money has gone out. Quality has come in. Yet the closing minutes in Austria told a different story: this squad still needs more.

McGregor, speaking to BBC Sport Scotland, backed the business done so far – but didn’t hide from the gaps that remain.

“I think we signed well,” he said when asked if Celtic had done enough in the market to be ready for this tie. “Then when you look at the team that finished the game – Scalesy playing at left-back, etc – then there's still little bits we still need to move forward.”

He was careful not to turn a recruitment issue into a blame game. Celtic, after all, had built a 4-0 lead in the tie. That, in his eyes, is where the responsibility lies.

“That's not me pinning the blame on anyone else because this is a tie we go 4-0 up in, so by no means is this me saying we need a left-back. That's not the case.

“But then, every squad wants to be as strong as it possibly can be, and have cover and good players in every position so we're always pushing each other.”

Eight days remain before the transfer window shuts. Celtic have invested, but their captain has effectively thrown down a challenge: if this team is to compete at the level the club demands, the bench has to look stronger than it did in Linz.

The message is clear. The core is there. The shirt still carries weight. But unless Celtic add the right pieces before the deadline, nights like this one against LASK will continue to ask questions the squad cannot quite answer.