Six attempts to qualify for the Champions League in the past eight years. Six failures. And a sixth post-mortem for Celtic. Picking through the wreckage of a European campaign has become almost an August perennial for the Scottish champions. But few of those failures have been quite so wretched as this one.

Leading 3-0 from the first leg in Glasgow, Celtic took the lead in Austria. Three quarters through the two-legged tie, they still held a three-goal advantage. But then came the collapse. It took until the 90th minute for LASK to level the tie 4-4, but it wasn't coming after a second-half bombardment. Captain Callum McGregor said Celtic looked "scared" and were "passive" as LASK attacked.

Martin O'Neill insisted he was responsible, but former captain Scott Brown believes the manager was protecting his players. Brown says Celtic's depth isn't of the level required. "The substitutes aren't Martin's players," he added. Celtic sold key players Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels, and Brown says Engels' absence was telling. "Arne Engels is a huge miss physically... his legs and running power as well."

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire estimates the financial consequences of failing to make the Champions League will be north of £20m. Celtic made about £45m in 2024-25 when they reached the knockout play-off.