Celtic taught 'European lesson' as Europa League defeat to Ferencvaros deemed 'psychologically damning'
Manager delivers frank assessment as he accepts Celtic were punished for mistakes at both ends of the pitch
Martin O’Neill felt Celtic were given a “European lesson” after opening their Europa League campaign with a 3-1 defeat to Hungarian champions Ferencvaros at Parkhead last night.
The result leaves the Hoops facing yet more intense scrutiny following on from Sunday’s damaging 3-0 defeat by Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup, with O’Neill acknowledging the psychological impact of consecutive losses ahead of another meeting with their city rivals this weekend.
Despite the scoreline, Celtic made an encouraging start and created opportunities before the visitors struck. Bamidele Yusuf’s effort was deflected past his own goalkeeper by Liam Scales, before Mika Baur finished off a well-worked move shortly before half-time.
However, Kristoffer Zachariassen restored the visitors’ advantage before the interval, and former Celtic winger Daniel Arzani added a fabulous third shortly after the restart.
“We’re naturally disappointed getting beaten,” O’Neill said in his post-match interview. “We started off very, very brightly. We had a number of balls that were flashed across the goal and no-one there to put the ball in the net for us.
“Their first attempt, proper attempt, really, on goal yielded a goal for them. We came back into the game, got the equaliser just before half-time and then conceded a really poor goal. We’re then hit on the break for the third goal.
“While we had a number of balls flashed across the box, even in the last 20 minutes, we didn’t get there to the front post a number of times that could’ve kept it alive.”
Ferencvaros defeat branded ‘psychologically damning’
O’Neill described the result as one of “a huge frustration” and described it as “psychologically quite damning.” The 74-year-old also suggested that Celtic had been given an important lesson about European football and the need to manage possession more effectively.
“Tonight was, I think, a European lesson for us in many aspects,” he admitted. “When we have decent possession of the ball, just don’t give it away. But also I think taking a few risks as well too – risks in the proper areas of the field.”
When asked if his players are suffering from a fear factor, O’Neill emphatically replied: “Oh gosh, yeah. Well, we have to do it. You're right, I think that when you lose a bit of confidence, then you become tentative, and I think this is it.
“I think that the great players play through a crisis of confidence. Everybody's had it at some stage or another, but for us, we have to try and battle through that. We’ve got to try and get a little bit of energy back into the team again, and just be prepared, you know.
“It's Thursday evening, we're in tomorrow, and Saturday, and just get ourselves prepared. Now, how we restore confidence, I think, obviously, is really essentially—and it's almost a cliché phrase—get on the front foot, be on the front foot, win second balls.
“Things, you know, part of the game that people seem to have some sort of disdain for, but still exists. I think that confidence is a funny old thing, because you can gain it slowly, and it can ebb away so quickly. I think it's a big thing in the game anyway, but if one or two players are lacking that, it's part of my job to restore that.”
*The Scottish Football Social Club is presented by BetSBK.com | 18+ | Gamble Responsibly