Celtic suffered a sixth consecutive failure to navigate the Champions League qualifiers this week.
A 5-1 defeat by LASK saw them squander a four-goal aggregate advantage in the play-offs.
Here, we look back at the circumstances surrounding their failures.
2018 – AEK Athens, 3rd qualifying round
Celtic lost 3-2 on aggregate amid tension between manager Brendan Rodgers and the board over transfers. Celtic’s only two summer signings, Odsonne Edouard and Scott Bain, had been at the club on loan the previous season and it did not need hindsight to see the errors of their approach to trying to sign John McGinn from Hibernian. They finally had a fourth bid accepted but the boyhood Celtic fan had already agreed to join Aston Villa for a fee of about £2.75million. Celtic offloaded centre-back Erik Sviatchenko and lost 2-1 in Greece, with Kristoffer Ajer suspended and Dedryck Boyata reporting an injury and incurring the anger of Rodgers.
2019 – Cluj, 3rd qualifying round
Celtic suffered a 4-3 home defeat following a 1-1 draw in Romania amid clear gaps in their squad. Boli Bolingoli was signed to replace Kieran Tierney following his £25million move to Arsenal but Callum McGregor started at left-back in the second leg and was caught out at an early goal, while goalkeeper Bain struggled. Manager Neil Lennon suggested before the game that he might bring in five players before the transfer deadline and Greg Taylor, Jeremie Frimpong and Mohamed Elyounoussi were among the signings after the defeat.
2020 – Ferencvaros, 2nd qualifying round
Lennon’s side lost 2-1 in a one-legged tie which set the tone for a miserable season. Summer signing Albian Ajeti was not deemed fit enough to start and, with Edouard injured, Celtic started without a recognised centre-forward as Ryan Christie deputised.
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2021 – Midtjylland, 2nd qualifying round
New manager Ange Postecoglou openly expressed his frustration at slow transfer activity ahead of a 3-2 aggregate defeat. The window ultimately proved to be arguably Celtic’s most successful in recent years but only Liel Abada was signed in time to play in the opening two games. Celtic were short at the back and midfielder Nir Bitton was sent off in the first leg after starting in central defence. They ended the second leg with Bain in goal behind an inexperienced back four of Anthony Ralston, Adam Montgomery, Stephen Welsh and Dane Murray.
2025 – Kairat Almaty, play-off
After automatic entry for three years running, Celtic again fell short in the qualifiers amid an obvious lack of preparation. Having failed to sign a proven striker to replace Kyogo Furuhashi following his exit seven months earlier, Rodgers’ side drew a blank over 210 minutes before losing on penalties.
2026 – LASK, play-off
Celtic appeared to solve their long-running forward problem by signing Kasper Hogh and Camilo Duran and the latter netted twice in a 3-0 first-leg win. But Celtic’s transfer strategy again came under criticism after their collapse in Austria. Mika Baur was handed his first two starts in the tie after the sale of Arne Engels days before the first leg. Celtic’s only other summer signing, Haissem Hassan, played seven minutes across the two games as he builds up fitness. Gaps at left-back and midfield in particular were exposed in Linz. Celtic’s four-man summer signing haul is the lowest of all 42 SPFL clubs.
