Celtic have to ask themselves how Europe became such a chore

The more troubling reality is that the Europa League fixture has become one that some within Celtic might privately wish could be hurried out of the way. Only one match has been played in the League Phase campaign and already there is a temptation to regard European football as more trouble than it is worth.

Hearts at Celtic Park on Sunday has become the match by which this week will ultimately be judged. Given everything that happened before the international break, there is some logic to that calculation, yet it remains a miserable state of affairs for a club that ought to measure its progress against the strongest opposition it can reach.

With fans poring over every utterance from Celtic Park, Martin O’Neill has attracted criticism for giving voice to European doubts following his side’s win over Motherwell.

“Whether we're good enough to compete here or not, I couldn't really tell you”, he said of the Europa League, after lamenting his side's tougher schedule in comparison to Rangers.

For some, it was a signal that Celtic intend to treat their European ambitions as more of a sideshow than a main event. While nothing will ever be wholly conceded publicly, O’Neill’s comments do tell us about the manager’s confidence in the options available to him at a higher level.

After the extraordinary collapse against LASK in August and the subsequent home defeat by Ferencvaros, it is difficult to accuse him of inventing the problem.

A look at Benfica offers little immediate comfort. Marco Silva’s team began their Europa League campaign with a 2-0 victory over AC Milan at the San Siro and despite rumblings of injuries and potential rotation, have the depth to be considered one of the tournament favourites.

As Celtic travel back to Lisbon in the 60th anniversary season of their greatest triumph, Benfica's own European standing does not depend entirely on memories of Eusebio and the club's two European Cups. They reached the Champions League quarter-finals in successive seasons in 2022 and 2023, followed by the last 16 in 2025.

These are not ancient achievements preserved in time. Benfica supporters have recent experience of seeing their team compete meaningfully in Europe's strongest competition. The club has demonstrated that regular participation at that level can amount to something more than collecting appearance money and hoping to avoid embarrassment.

The Portuguese side are renowned for the ability to develop players, sell them for substantial fees and recruit replacements, helping maintain a level of competitiveness across different squads and managers. Celtic operate in a different football economy and cannot reasonably be expected to reproduce Benfica's transfer business. But the underlying principle should be recognisable.

Celtic’s Champions League victory over RB Leipzig in 2024 was an outstanding night because of the quality of the football as much as the result. Brendan Rodgers' side played with intelligence, conviction and composure against accomplished opposition. For a fleeting moment, there was little sense of an enormous gulf in class or cash. It was reasonable to expect the club to build from there.

Nicolas Kuhn celebrates scoring for Celtic against RB Leipzig. (Image: PA)

Instead, barely two years later, the prospect of a Europa League trip to Portugal is being weighed against the potential damage it might do to Celtic's domestic campaign. The speed of that retreat should concern everyone responsible for the direction of the club.

Sunday's victory over Motherwell was encouraging for O'Neill. The pressing improved, there was more support around Callum McGregor and Mika Baur looked very comfortable operating alongside the captain.

Celtic appeared to have rediscovered some of the basic principles that had been missing during their three consecutive defeats. Players understood their responsibilities and there was greater cohesion both in possession and without the ball. It's tentative evidence that perhaps some home truths were taken to heart at Lennoxtown over the international break.

There was, however, enough time and space at Fir Park against a passive Motherwell for those relationships to function. Benfica will make Celtic work considerably harder to retain possession and will punish mistakes more severely.

Given the strength of feeling around the club right now, for many, even the quality of opponent wouldn’t be an acceptable excuse for another performance in which O’Neill’s players completely lose their way. In that sense, it truly is a 90 minutes he could do without.

Amidst the noise around O’Neill’s comments, there is something faintly absurd about explaining the importance of European football to the man who took Celtic to Seville.

O'Neill knows better than almost anybody what a successful European campaign can do for the club. He understands the excitement, the prestige and the opportunities it creates.

If he genuinely doubts this team's capacity to compete, it should hardly be dismissed as a PR blunder. The more important question is how Celtic have allowed themselves to reach that position.

The Celtic board knew what they were getting when they re-appointed O'Neill, who made clear after the Scottish Cup final that if he were to return, it wouldn’t be to oversee a long-term project. The short-term aim of winning another championship was always going to dominate O’Neill’s thinking, rather than navel gazing about the multi-year puzzle to improve in Europe.

Celtic manager Martin O'Neill ahead of the Premiership match at Fir Park Stadium, Motherwell. (Image: PA)

That arrangement places an obvious responsibility on those above him when it becomes apparent standards are slipping in a European context.

It is no longer enough to assemble a squad capable of winning the Scottish Premiership and hope that the same collection of players will somehow develop the necessary qualities to compete on the continent without a strategy in place.

Those demands should be influencing recruitment, coaching appointments and squad development throughout the year. European football cannot remain an aspiration that is discussed in public and trumpeted at AGMs but inadequately prepared for in practice.

Where is the explanation of that strategy from the chief executive?

There are thousands of supporters spending their money to travel to Lisbon this week who understand perfectly well that Celtic may lose. They will go anyway.

Season-ticket holders have also been asked to pay £35 to attend next week's home European match against Celta Vigo. The club continues to ask its fans to invest financially and emotionally in these occasions, without indication they treat it anywhere near as seriously.

The wider irony is that setting higher European standards would help Celtic domestically.

A midfield capable of playing through pressure, defenders comfortable when isolated against dangerous forwards and a squad equipped to handle two demanding matches in four days would make Celtic considerably harder to beat in Scotland.

There should be no fundamental conflict between building a team for Europe and winning league titles. Indeed, the latter ought to become easier if the former is done properly.

Yet, even through the pessimism, there is still room for this week to offer some encouragement.

Celtic's victory at Feyenoord last season is a reminder difficult away fixtures need not have a pre-determined outcome. A competitive performance in Lisbon, even without a victory, could provide confidence that carries into Sunday's meeting with Hearts. It would also demonstrate that this group of players has more to offer than recent European performances suggest.

For now, however, O'Neill is attempting to win another league title with a team whose limitations beyond Scotland have become painfully familiar. It doesn’t appear he is minded to shy away from that, even if it is an uncomfortable reality for fans who cannot accept it as a satisfactory account of Celtic's ambitions.

The Celtic manager has been candid about where his team stands. All he did was tell the truth. It is time for those running the club to be equally forthcoming about when, and how, they intend to change it.