'I'm responsible' - Martin O'Neill takes the blame as Celtic suffer humiliating Champions League collapse against LASK

Celtic threw away a commanding 4-0 aggregate cushion as LASK mounted a ruthless fightback to dump the Scottish champions out of Champions League qualifying. Callum McGregor's early strike in Austria seemed to seal progression after a 3-0 first-leg win, but goals from Moses Usor, Robert Ljubicic, Samuel Adeniran, and Florian Flecker forced extra time. Adeniran then struck again in the 105th minute to seal an extraordinary 5-4 aggregate triumph.

O'Neill conceded that missing out on the league phase for a second straight year is a massive blow that directly weakens the club's transfer pull.

Lamenting his team'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."

LASK thoroughly dominated the contest, peppering the Celtic goal with 40 attempts worth 4.8 expected goals (xG) and creating 10 big chances. Celtic offered virtually nothing in response, managing just eight shots and a measly 0.5 xG across 120 minutes.

Reflecting on the capitulation, 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."

Celtic must now swiftly recalibrate for the Europa League's league phase while attempting to heal their psychological wounds before returning to domestic duties this weekend. O'Neill faces an immediate task to shore up an alarming backline and restore fractured dressing-room morale. The Celtic board also face a pivotal final stretch in the transfer window to reinforce the squad and defend the league title they won last season.