Be careful what you wish for

There are many ways of exiting European football in a given season and I’ve seen Celtic leave the stage in many of them. There were heroic failures such as losing a penalty shoot out to Inter Milan or giving their all in Seville. There are displays which leave you shaking your head and realising that a once great European side has declined dramatically. We saw that in the 1990s when a moderate side such as Neuchatel Xamax hammered a poor Celtic side 5-1. There are those games filled with injustice which leave you angry such as the assorted thugs and conmen of Atletico Madrid or Rapid Vienna who cheated their way through the tie as UEFA looked the other way. Then there are those ties you lose against sides which you know you are superior to but allow costly errors to kill your hopes.

We had high hopes in Europe this season. Not that we thought for a moment that we’d win the Europa League but we did expect perhaps to get through at least one more round and perhaps take on one of the big boys. After the heroics in Rome where we beat a very decent Lazio side, losing in the manner Celtic did to Copenhagen was a bitter pill to swallow. To see Jozo Simunovic, a player of considerable experience, fluff his lines in the manner Efe Ambrose did against Juventus a few years back reminded us yet again how fatal these errors are in a Europe. There are few easy teams in Europe these days and if you make elementary blunders then you will be punished. It had to end at some point but I’d far rather if my team was undone by a piece of brilliance by the opposition than by the free gifts Celtic handed out on Thursday.

Much discussion among Celts focused on this as another wasted opportunity. We lost to Copenhagen but it was a self inflicted defeat brought about by poor performances and individual errors. Certain players weren’t 100% fit and others looked uncomfortable in the roles they were asked to take on. In the wake of a defeat there is always a lot of soul searching about what could have been done differently. Of course the tactical geniuses out there all seemed to be busy driving taxis, cutting hair or laying out their formations on Twitter but It all comes down to players in the end; tactics help as do formations but if players make basic errors or don’t turn up on the night then all the planning in the world will be undone. 

One bright note though is that this defeat stung a little because it was unexpected. This wasn’t the 90s when you showed up in hope rather than expectation on European nights. This was a Celtic team who strolled a group containing Lazio, Cluj and Rennes. Indeed the high flying Serie A side were beaten home and away on nights we all enjoyed thoroughly. The fact we have higher expectations for the team in Europe than was the case is a positive and leads to the sort of anguish we saw on a Thursday when it went wrong. We notice the defending errors which lead to goals more than the chancers strikers pass up so naturally the defence was dragged over the coals but it’s a team game. We win as a team, we lose as a team, we look to improve as a team and we never stop giving our all. 

Of course there were those who scoffed at Celtic’s misfortune in Europe but sometimes they need to be careful what the wish for as this now frees up Celtic to focus totally on the SPFL which they will do with steely determination. The prospect on nine in a row is tantalisingly close and in a country where history and bragging rights are all that will hurt them despite their empty talk of it not counting as they weren’t in the league for some of the titles. How ironic it is that since they joined the league in 2016 with bold claims of ‘coming for you’ and ‘going for 55’ that Celtic have won every single trophy competed for and handed out some chastening footballing lessons along the way. 

For Celtic the path ahead is clear; focus on each remaining game this season as if it were a cup final and deliver the title. The cup would be a bonus too but the title is the priority as it has been since we kicked off last August. If that can be assured we should pull out all the stops to get key players such as Edouard to stay for at least one more season. They should of course also look to add one or two quality players to the squad too for what will be an enormous season next year. 

The hand of history is on our shoulders and those running Celtic should do everything they possibly can to see that we reach our fabled goal. We have never been in a better position to deliver what our support craves so much 

Yes, Thursday hurt that’s only natural but we see the big picture and we know the glittering prizes which are still within our grasp. Our European exit will be a distant memory if we see the league flag flying once more over Paradise.