Celtic's heavy defeat to Benfica was miserable, but it wasn't worrying.
Look, if you are still surprised by this Bhoys team not being able to compete properly in the Europa League this season, then I don't know what to tell you. Can they find a way through the knockout playoffs? That's not out of the question.
But can they compete with the top 8-10 teams in this competition? Absolutely not.
This squad isn't good enough. There simply isn't enough quality for Martin O'Neill to call upon to compete against very good teams. Beating such teams without a midfield is just not possible, and Celtic do not have a midfield.
But we already knew all of that before Thursday night. We already knew Celtic were in for a hiding, so there's no point acting as if it's shocking or worrying now.
It was concerning and disappointing to see Celtic lose against teams they should have beaten like LASK or Ferencvaros, but Benfica are a different animal.
They went the whole of last season unbeaten in the league and beat Real Madrid to progress to the knockout stage of the Champions League. Even after switching to Marco Silva this season, they have beaten AC Milan away from home in the Europa League, and it's clear they have a chance of winning this whole competition.
Celtic are not close to that category. Fans might not have liked that O'Neill said recently that Celtic may qualify for these competitions, but it doesn't mean they are good enough, but it's right.
They qualify because UEFA deems the Scottish Premiership good enough to guarantee the title winners a place in the Europa League. They do not qualify by proving they are one of the 36th to 72nd best teams in Europe, which is what being in the Europa League suggests.
The club is big enough to have the potential to be one of those clubs, but just qualifying for the competition doesn't ensure that it's the case, and the proof has already been there this season, with Celtic losing to teams like LASK and Ferencvaros, who have far fewer resources.
Fans need to accept what this team is. It's a team that can win the Scottish Premiership by consistently beating the lesser teams and picking up a big win here or there against the likes of Hearts or Rangers.
It is not a team that can compete well in the Europa League as things stand, and that's not going to change unless there is surprisingly big investment in January, provided the Bhoys remain in the competition until that point.
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