Celtic's Champions League Collapse: McGregor Calls for More Squad Depth
Callum McGregor did not try to dress it up. Celtic may have spent heavily this summer, but their captain walked out of Linz knowing the squad still looks light in key areas at the level that matters most.
A makeshift Celtic side stumbled over the line of their Champions League collapse against LASK, and the final whistle in Austria felt less like closure and more like a warning.
Money spent, gaps exposed
Around £30million has gone on Kasper Hogh, Camilo Duran, Haissem Hassan and Mika Baur. On paper, that is a statement window. On the pitch, in the tense closing stages in Linz, it looked anything but complete.
Martin O'Neill watched a back line finish the tie that no manager would script for a Champions League night. Liam Scales, who has been used centrally, ended the game at left-back. Dane Murray and Anthony Ralston were patched into the defence. Luke McCowan came on to bolster a tiring midfield. Sebastian Tounekti was asked to carry the threat on the left flank.
It told its own story. Celtic had raced into a 4-0 lead in the tie, but as the legs tired and the pressure grew, the depth behind the first-choice XI was laid bare.
Captain’s verdict: good window, not a complete one
McGregor, speaking to BBC Sport Scotland, struck a careful balance. He backed the business done so far, yet made it clear the job is not finished.
"I think we signed well," he said when asked if Celtic had done enough to prepare for the tie. Then came the caveat.
"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."
The captain was quick to protect his team-mates and the club’s recruitment from becoming the easy target.
"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."
The message landed. Celtic have improved, but they have not yet insulated themselves from the kind of strain that Champions League football routinely applies.
Eight days to act
Eight days remain before the transfer window closes. Eight days for Celtic to turn McGregor’s polite nudge into concrete action.
The spine has been reinforced with significant outlay. The wide areas have fresh faces. Yet the picture in Linz – defenders out of position, young and fringe players thrown into a high-stakes finish – underlined why the captain is still asking for more competition and cover.
This was not a demand for marquee signings for the sake of it. It was a pointed reminder that Celtic cannot afford to rely on improvisation when Europe exposes every weakness.
The collapse against LASK is already written into this season’s story. What happens in the next week will decide whether it becomes a turning point or the first sign of a campaign that never quite had enough.
