Even at their best in recent decades, Celtic have struggled awfully to win European games on the road. Right now, that looks way beyond them. Winning at home is too much for them these days, too.
So, yes, there are enough points on offer for Celtic to fight their way out of their Europa League dungeon and into the play-off, but in their current state it’s more a philosophical thought than an attainable reality.
If you have lost three out of three, have scored three goals and have conceded nine, then banging on about points you might win down the line is an exercise in wishful thinking.
In the here and now, Celtic’s standards are plummeting. That’s on everybody.
It’s on O’Neill and his players, though it’s easy to have some sympathy for the manager when he not only has to field questions about the stuff he’s responsible for but also come up with answers about stuff that he has no responsibility for – the ongoing circus that is Celtic’s relationship with large elements of their own support.
And the blame is also, in greater part, on a board who are happy to have O’Neill and – when he’s not around – Shaun Maloney, talking about the disconnect between fans and club, as was the case on Wednesday.
No chief executive, no chairman, no major shareholder and no major shareholder’s son are anywhere to be seen when those issues are raised at news conferences. Just a manager or an assistant who, let’s face it, have a few other things on their mind.
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