Celtic boss Postecoglou needs backing in January to be competitive in Europe

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If you wanted to be particularly harsh about Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou, you could argue his side could’ve been better managed in-game tonight.

When Celtic conceded the first goal, we were still 2-1 up. Yet, flashbacks of prior European nightmares, notably Lille and AC Milan [BBC], felt implanted in the memory.

So it proved, we lost 4-3. But before anyone goes in on Postecoglou, consider the bench he had at his disposal tonight. Barkas, Bain, Scales, McCarthy, Urhoghide, Shaw, Henderson, Murray, Welsh.

No attacking midfielders or wingers, barring the inexperienced Ewan Henderson. Most notably, not a striker to be had, in the continued absence of Giorgos Giakoumakis.

And while yes, that’s a function of the huge injury problems at Celtic currently, it’s also a sign of the wild turnover at the club this summer. If the club are going to progress under Ange Postecoglou, it’s clear he needs even more backing in the transfer market.

We’ve dealt with injury crises before, but it’s hard to remember a thinner squad for a European game than this one. Yet, they still did valiantly, losing 4-3 after what must’ve been quite a watch for the neutral.

Celtic can only go so far with current squad, and Ange Postecoglou needs backing

Let’s be clear; the summer transfer window was a good one. We brought in 12 players at different stages of their careers. Some gives us leadership and star quality, others provide squad options, and more than a few represent real optimism for the future.

But tonight, perhaps, was a reminder of the scale of the rebuild. It’s also proof that players needed to be brought in sooner in order to gel and coalesce with the pieces around them.

Because ultimately, it was long-term planning that undid us against Midtjylland, and was probably was undid us here, too.

Celtic can come away with immense credit from tonight, despite losing. This team will get better, there’s no doubt about, and Postecoglou seems extremely well-equipped to lead that.

But unless this team can be made stronger, with some smart recruitment, glorious failure in Europe could remain the status quo.

In other news: Chris Sutton delivers instant verdict on Celtic defeat vs Betis; picks one player out