Celtic captain Callum McGregor has issued a stark apology after the Scottish club suffered one of the worst defeats in their European history, crashing out of the Champions League qualifiers.
LASK secured a 5-1 victory in extra time, eliminating Celtic 5-4 on aggregate in the qualifying play-off. This marks the second consecutive year the club has failed to reach the Champions League group stage after starting in the qualifying rounds, a run now spanning six seasons.
McGregor admitted the team's performance was passive and suggested they appeared fearful of securing a victory. "We got what we deserved," McGregor told Amazon Prime. "We were passive all night. We actually looked scared to go and win the game. It's psychological. To be honest, I didn't think we were that good in the first leg either. We scored at good times and kind of got away with it."
Despite holding a four-goal aggregate lead earlier in the match, Celtic conceded five unanswered goals. LASK's comeback was initiated by Moses Usor before the break. In the second half, goals from Robert Ljubicic, Samuel Adeniran, and Florian Flecker sent the tie into extra time. Adeniran then scored the decisive goal in the 109th minute.
Manager Martin O'Neill accepted full responsibility for the capitulation, stating, "We conceded not good goals at all, but that's my team and that is my responsibility." He acknowledged that the loss exposed significant work needed within the squad. "These games show you we obviously have a lot of work to do in that aspect," O'Neill said. "These games are real, real tests for you and, unfortunately, we've failed that test tonight. We know that we are a million miles from the finished article."
O'Neill described the defeat as one of the most disappointing of his tenure, ranking it alongside losing the UEFA Cup final in 2003. The club is estimated to have lost approximately £40 million in revenue by failing to qualify for the lucrative Champions League group stage.
McGregor deflected questions about potential failures in player recruitment by the club's board, emphasizing the players' own accountability. "You fall at a big hurdle and these questions are going to get asked," he stated. "It is as much on the players as anything else, to be honest. You cannot lose that game by such a big margin and start looking for excuses elsewhere. You'll now see what people are made of. You have to realise you are playing at a big club."