Celtic board told to brace for more anarchy as 'worst' ever result claim made amid European post-mortem
Hoops blew a four goal lead against LASK Linz as they kissed goodbye to the Champions League
Celtic-daft pundit Alan Brazil believes the Hoops board will have more to answer for after their 5-4 aggregate defeat to LASK Linz - a result he reckons is one of ‘the worst’ in the club’s 138-year history.
The champions headed for the away leg with a three-goal lead over their Austrian counterparts, which captain Callum McGregor added to in the first half at the Raffeisen Arena. However, the hosts then found the target four times without reply to send the match to extra time - where striker Samuel Adeniran delivered the final hammer blow to end Celtic’s Champions League dream and kibosh the £40m cash influx that comes with it.
It was a night to forget for manager Martin O’Neill and the Celtic squad as they failed to qualify for Europe’s most prestigious tournament for the second year running. Last year’s defeat to Kazakhstan minnows Kairat Almaty at the same stage prompted outrage among supporters against the club’s hierarchy. Despite spending upwards of £30m in the summer window, history appears to be repeating itself already.
‘Unbelievable’ Celtic defeat to spark board outrage
Former Ipswich and Manchester United striker Brazil admitted he didn’t tune into the match on Tuesday night, but like many others, thought the tie was over when McGregor grabbed the opener. However, he also claimed that he knew LASK would carry a threat, given that they missed countless chances at Celtic Park in the first leg and had two goals disallowed.
Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “Dear oh dear. I’ll be honest here. After the first game I said it’s not over, but when I saw Celtic scored, I thought ‘that’s it done.’ Unbelievable. Terrible. The punters will be going crazy at the board again. I mean when McGregor scores surely you lock up, keep the ball and slow it down. But to be fair I was impressed with them (LASK Linz).”
‘The worst’ result in history - Brazil
When asked where the result ranks in terms of Celtic’s history, the former Scotland international didn’t hold back. He continued: “When you think about the importance of the game and the money side of it. I think it could be the worst (result), I would suggest.
“I was screaming at the telly during the first leg, ‘we need a third, we need a third, we need a third!’ When we got it, I thought, right, I'll go to bed now. I thought, well, that's got to be enough. And then when McGregor scores an away goal, you think okay, it’s done. It should’ve been enough. Shocking.”
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