Celtic's Champions League Hopes Exposed by Linz Defeat
Callum McGregor didn’t bother dressing it up. On a night when Celtic’s Champions League hopes crumbled in Linz, their captain looked at the team that finished the tie and saw exactly what the rest of Europe will see too – a squad still short in key areas.
Makeshift finish exposes Celtic’s soft spots
Celtic arrived in Austria with a 4-0 cushion over LASK, but by the end they were hanging on with a patched‑up back line and a midfield that screamed “work in progress” rather than “group-stage ready”.
Liam Scales, who has spent most of his Celtic career as a centre-back or utility option, ended the game at left-back. Alongside him, Dane Murray and Anthony Ralston were pressed into service in defence. Luke McCowan came on to bolster the middle of the park, while Sebastian Tounekti was asked to carry the threat on the left flank.
For a club that has poured the bulk of £30 million this summer into Kasper Hogh, Camilo Duran, Haissem Hassan and Mika Baur, those closing stages told their own story. The first XI might be taking shape. The depth behind it is not.
McGregor, speaking to BBC Sport Scotland, didn’t hide from that reality.
“I think we signed well,” he said when asked if Celtic had done enough business before this tie. Then he pointed straight at the evidence on the pitch. “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.”
That’s the captain talking, not a pundit.
No excuses, but no disguises either
McGregor was careful not to turn a structural issue into a shield for what happened over the two legs. Celtic built a 4-0 lead in the tie. They should never have allowed it to become a “collapse” in the first place.
“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,” he stressed.
The message is clear. The players on the pitch should have managed the situation better. The badge demands that. But the club, from the manager’s office upwards, has eight days left in this transfer window to give those players the support and competition they need.
McGregor knows what a modern Champions League squad looks like. It isn’t 11 starters and a handful of hopefuls. It’s relentless competition, every position under threat, every training session a fight to stay in the team.
“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,” he said.
That line cuts to the heart of Celtic’s current reality. The first wave of summer signings has arrived. The spine is being rebuilt. Yet when injuries, fatigue or form bite – as they always do over a long season – Celtic still look one or two players light in several areas.
Eight days to prove they’ve learned
The night in Linz should sting. Not because Celtic were blown away from the first whistle, but because they allowed a commanding position to fray into anxiety. When the pressure rose, the squad’s limitations came into sharp focus.
Martin O’Neill now faces a familiar Celtic dilemma: trust what he has and hope for fitness and form to hold, or push the board for the extra quality and cover that can turn a domestic contender into a European presence.
The market clock is ticking. McGregor has done his part by saying what needed to be said. The question now is whether Celtic’s recruitment drive finishes as strongly as this tie started – or fades away like their grip on Linz.
