O'Neill accepts blame as Celtic eliminated by LASK at Raiffeisen Arena

Martin O'Neill said he was responsible after Celtic were eliminated by LASK at the Raiffeisen Arena in the Champions League play-offs on 25 August 2026, the Scottish champions losing 5-4 on aggregate following a second-half collapse.

In the open air of the Raiffeisen Arena, with bedlam all around, there was nowhere to hide for Celtic or Martin O'Neill as a four-goal aggregate lead evaporated in the second half and the club suffered what the report described as one of their darkest nights in European history; the article noted that "After going out to Kairat Almaty on penalties last year at this stage of the Champions League play-offs, that is saying something."

O'Neill addressed the media at full-time and took personal responsibility, saying: "I'm responsible for this one," and adding: "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. "We know that we are a million miles from the finished article. That's absolutely true. I think we thought that anyway."

The report recalled that O'Neill was not in charge for Celtic's defeat in Kazakhstan a year ago, a result that helped trigger the end of Brendan Rodgers' second spell at Celtic Park, and it said the current Parkhead boss "helped steady Celtic's ship last term following Rodgers' exit and again following the Wilfried Nancy saga to guide them to another league title and a Scottish Cup."

On the wider consequences for the club, O'Neill stressed the importance of qualification and recruitment, saying: "The qualification for the Champions League is major, it's major in every aspect," and adding: "Financially, for prestige, but we have to pick ourselves up. That's my responsibility again to do that. "I think I said last week that if you could qualify for the Champions League there would be players wanting to come on that basis. "That's not going to be the case but we'll see. Tonight we came up well and truly short, particularly in the second half."

Celtic captain Callum McGregor gave a stark appraisal of the players' performance, saying: "We got what we deserved. We were passive all night. "We looked scared to go and win the game. "I didn't think we were that good in the first leg either. We scored at good times and got away with it. "We have to suck it up. We apologise to our supporters and the club because there's no way we should lose that game. "It's as much on the players as everyone else. You can't look for excuses elsewhere. "You'll now see what people are made of." He added: "When you play like that you can't have any excuses whatsoever. "When you go 1-0 up in the game and it still doesn't settle you, you can't have any excuse and that's on us. "You fall at a big hurdle and these questions [on whether the squad are ready] are going to be asked. You can't lose by that margin then look for excuses elsewhere. "This is what it's like to play at Celtic. You have to bounce back, you have to show a reaction and that's what Celtic are all about."

Former players and managers reacted on broadcast platforms: Scott Brown told BBC Radio Scotland, "It was a fantastic start, you go 1-0 up, but that seems like forever ago. Now they've crashed out the Champions League and conceded five goals. "LASK outran Celtic in a couple of areas, the two up front were strong, solid and willing runners. "LASK deserve to go through with that performance. I feel for the lads because I've been in that situation as well." Neil Lennon, speaking on Amazon Prime, said: "It looked to me as if Celtic were exhausted. Fragile in duels. It only looked like there would be one winner. "They battered Celtic tonight, physically and on the football side. It could have been more." Stiliyan Petrov added: "Everyone [is to blame]. "They are all in it together. A big club like Celtic should be able to hold that out."

Celtic now face completing the transfer window without the hefty windfall that Champions League qualification would have provided, an immediate financial and recruitment consequence referenced in the report and by O'Neill himself as part of the task he must address moving forward.