Martin O’Neill reveals why Celtic surrendered their lead against LASK

Martin O’Neill admits Celtic’s LASK collapse has left him frustrated

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill has opened up on his disappointment after watching his side suffer a dramatic Champions League exit against LASK in Austria.

The Hoops appeared to be in complete control after winning the first leg 3-0 at Celtic Park, but they were unable to protect their advantage in the return fixture. LASK eventually forced extra time before completing a remarkable comeback to win 5-1 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate.

O’Neill admitted that progressing to the next round was the priority, regardless of how Celtic performed, but he was still unhappy with the overall display.

“Getting through was the most important thing,” O’Neill said. “But even if we had defended the final ball coming into the box and got through, it still wouldn’t stop us from not having played well in the game.

“We got beaten. And I’m obviously disappointed with myself.”

O’Neill rejects preparation excuses

The Celtic boss was also asked whether the club’s limited transfer activity had contributed to the team being underprepared for such an important European tie.

However, O’Neill pointed back to the first leg, insisting Celtic were fortunate to have established such a commanding lead and that he had always expected LASK to provide a serious test.

Celtic had won 3-0 in Glasgow, but O’Neill had warned immediately afterwards that the tie was far from settled.

“I did say afterwards that the game was very much in the balance,” he explained. “That wasn’t just a defence mechanism, it was the truth of the game. I thought that they were a really fine side.”

With the disappointment still fresh, O’Neill admitted there was little value in making excuses.

“You can talk about preparations at the end of it all,” he said. “The disappointment’s still there. We still have to try and get through. And I will just have to take that.”

O’Neill looks at where Celtic lost control

The Celtic manager is now focused on analysing the match and identifying how his team allowed LASK to build such a strong momentum after the break.

O’Neill believes the period immediately after LASK scored was particularly important, with the Austrian side gaining confidence and Celtic struggling to regain control.

“I have to really analyse it again,” he said. “Try to do it, you know, period of the game just after half-time when they’ve scored, 2-1, the momentum’s with them.

“What can you do to stop that momentum? Try and keep playing in the manner in which you had done in the first half. And then they just start to get on top of it.”

Having experienced similar momentum swings throughout his career, O’Neill knows how quickly European games can change.

“I’ve experienced these things before, both for and against. And the momentum that they had was very strong.”

The Celtic boss also admitted that his team needed to defend their penalty area more effectively when LASK began putting pressure on them.

“I thought we could have maybe defended our box a wee bit better,” O’Neill said.

However, he was quick to accept responsibility before pointing the finger at his players.

“That’s… I’ll have to look at my own part, first of all, before looking at anybody else’s.”

The defeat represents another painful European setback for Celtic, who were just minutes away from progressing before the tie slipped away.

O’Neill will now hope his players can respond immediately when they return to domestic action against Falkirk on Saturday. The match will provide Celtic with an early opportunity to put the disappointment behind them as they turn their attention towards their domestic campaign and upcoming Europa League commitments.