Celtic won't be playing Champions League football. After three years of guaranteed spots, this time around, they were given the manageable task of winning a two-legged qualifier against Kairat Almaty. No matter which way you look at it, this should have been a simple process for a team that defeated RB Leipzig last season and took Bayern Munich to their limit.
But this feels like a weakened squad from that time. Nicolas Kuhn and Kyogo have left, and have not been replaced. Several other plays have lost the form that they showcased last season. There seems to be a grand total of zero match-winners in the team.
Of course, the players and the manager should have done better. But they are not the primary reason Celtic did not make the Champions League.
It is the almost disinterested approach that Celtic took to the transfer market. The most unfortunate thing is, this is not the first time this has happened. For more than half a decade, the Hoops failed to make it into the Champions League, stumbling in the qualification rounds time after time. And yet, no lessons were learnt. That was clear to see this year.
Brendan Rodgers finally says what Celtic fans have been waiting for
Rodgers seemed to be very open about the club's shortcomings in the aftermath of the Kairat defeat. As reported by The Scotsman, he said:
"I always think that investment is great, but investment in whatever you're doing has to be at the right time."
He also was honest about how frustrating the situation is, as he added:
"It's very frustrating. We all know where we want to get to. We showed last year the strides I felt we took, but you have to build on that.
"The last thing you want to do in football is manufacture your own stress, but all we can do now is look at where we're at as a football club and decide where we want to go."
Well, what is done is done. One can only hope that the lessons are finally learnt after this exit. And it will be very interesting to see how the fans react to this defeat. If the board were already under pressure, that is only going to be amplified. Let's see how they end up reacting to it.