Celtic Captain Callum McGregor Reflects on Champions League Shortcomings

Callum McGregor did not bother dressing it up. Celtic’s captain walked away from Linz knowing a cobbled‑together finish to a Champions League tie had exposed exactly where his club still fall short.

The Scottish champions have already thrown close to £30million at this window. Kasper Hogh, Camilo Duran, Haissem Hassan and Mika Baur have all arrived, a clear attempt to refresh Martin O'Neill’s squad for the European step up. For a while, it looked like enough. Celtic surged 4-0 ahead in the tie.

Then came the collapse against LASK – and the sight of a patched-up XI trying to see it out.

By the final whistle, Liam Scales had been shunted to left-back. Dane Murray and Anthony Ralston were drafted into a stretched defence. Luke McCowan came on to plug a gap in midfield. Sebastian Tounekti finished the night on the left flank. It looked more like a pre-season mix-and-match than the closing stages of a Champions League qualifier.

McGregor, speaking to BBC Sport Scotland, backed the club’s business so far but pointed straight at the reality laid bare in Austria.

“I think we signed well,” he said when asked if Celtic had done enough in the market to prepare for the tie. “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.”

He was careful not to turn a recruitment issue into an excuse for surrendering such a commanding position.

“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.”

That is the balance Celtic now have to strike. Eight days remain before the transfer window closes. The spine has been reinforced with promising signings, yet the closing stretch in Linz underlined how quickly depth can be stripped away when injuries, fatigue or loss of form bite.

McGregor’s message was not a public plea for panic buys. It was a captain’s reminder that a club with Celtic’s ambitions cannot rely on improvisation when the pressure rises. With the Champions League dream already bruised, the next week in the market will say plenty about how serious they are about turning nights like this into a thing of the past.