Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou admits his side under-performed in both legs against Bodo/Glimt following Europa Conference League exit

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou felt his players under-performed after suffering a humiliating 5-1 aggregate defeat to Bodo/Glimt in the Europa Conference League.

The Hoops crashed out of the competition following a 2-0 loss to the Norwegian champions at the Aspymra Stadion last night.

Goals from Ola Solbakken and Hugo Veltesen, who both found the net during the first leg, settled the tie as Kjetil Knudsen’s side outclassed their opponents.

Postecoglou named a much-changed starting line-up which drew criticism from various supporters as he opted to rest the likes of Callum McGregor, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Liel Abada in Norway.

The Parkhead boss couldn’t disguise his frustration after his side were eliminated in freezing weather conditions.

He told BT Sport: “It’s fair to say over the two legs we weren’t good enough. Our levels of performance weren’t where they needed to be and they deservedly went through.

“I think it was probably our least effective two performances in Europe, including when we got beat 4-0 by Leverkusen.

“I expect to go far in every competition we play in and that’s the nature of this football club, but obviously this year Europe was a bit beyond us in terms of the levels we need to get to.

“It’s disappointing because we wanted to progress further in the competition, so it’s my responsibility to make sure we improve and perform better next year.

“The supporters that travelled over were outstanding and they were still encouraging the players at the end.

“Unfortunately we didn’t manage to send them home happy but I think they understand where we’re at and what we need to do to improve.”

Celtic will now switch their focus back on Scottish Premiership duty when they travel through to the capital to face Hibernian.

However, Postecoglou doesn’t anticipate their early departure from Europe to make their title challenge more achievable, given there will be fewer games to play.

He admitted: “This football club demands that you compete in multiple tournaments, so being out of one tournament shouldn’t make it easier in another. That’s not where our focus is.

“The next challenge for us is on Sunday (against Hibs). It will be another difficult game against a good side, so we’ve got to make sure we perform better.”

Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton labelled the manner of his old club’s defeat ‘embarrassing’ but reckons supporters must look at the bigger picture.

Sutton, who was on punditry duty for BT Sport, he said: “In the second half with (Callum) McGregor and (Liel) Abada coming on the team improved, but it was too little too late.

“You’ve got to say that was flat tonight - over the two legs to lose 5-1. Bodo/Glimt are a very good team but that’s embarrassing for Celtic.

“However, you have to take things and look at the season as a whole, a bit of perspective. Ange has really improved this Celtic team.

“They’re in with a shout of winning the league. I know a lot of Celtic fans will say they have to prioritise the league but you have to say it was a poor performance tonight, you can’t get away from that.”