'Stupid' Celtic transfer business led to LASK collapse, Martin O'Neill told

O'Neill admits Celtic humiliation has spoiled transfer plans after 'stupid' criticism Make us your Google favourite Martin O’Neill has admitted that Celtic ’s humiliating collapse against Austrian side LASK could have significant implications on the club’s remaining transfer business, amid furious criticism from a club legend. The Scottish champions entered the second leg of their Champions League playoff on Tuesday with a 3-0 lead but, despite scoring first in Austria, Celtic suffered a 5-1 defeat after extra time as LASK pulled off a stunning turnaround to win 5-4 on aggregate and knock O'Nell's side out. The result sees Celtic fail to qualify for the Champions League group stage and instead go into the Europa League – something which O’Neill believes could see some transfer targets change their mind on joining the club. "I think these games show you that we have obviously a lot of work to do in that aspect [squad depth]. O’Neill said after the match. "We know that we are a million miles from the finished article. That's absolutely true. I think we thought that anyway,” "The qualification for the Champions League is major, it's major in every aspect. 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 facing deadline day scramble after ‘stupid’ transfer business Celtic are desperate to add more players to their squad before the summer transfer window closes at 5pm on 3 September, having seen a number of key players depart in recent weeks. The likes of Arne Engels , Daizen Maeda and Kelechi Iheanacho have all left Celtic this summer and, while O’Neill has been able to make four signings, the club are still desperate to add more quality to replace their departed stars. The decision to sell Maeda in particular was blasted as ‘stupid’ by Celtic legend Chris Sutton, who believes that the 28-year-old’s €9.4 million move to Ipswich, as well as Engels’ exit, has left the club ‘weakened’ at a crucial point in the campaign. People can say what they like about the collapse and I respect that but why sell your legs in midfield and weaken your team when the biggest games of the season are around the corner. Why sell Maeda? It’s just stupid… the justification is in the winning… Celtic lost… — Chris Sutton (@chris_sutton73) August 25, 2026 Posting on social media, Sutton said: “People can say what they like about the collapse and I respect that but why sell your legs in midfield and weaken your team when the biggest games of the season are around the corner. “Why sell Maeda? It’s just stupid. The justification is in the winning…Celtic lost.”