After what he had described as probably the longest 90 minutes of his career, Brendan Rodgers was entitled to see the positives in Celtic’s nerve-shredding progress to the Champions League group stages for the first time in three years.
“I am immensely proud,” he said after his side had survived Hapoel Beer-Sheva’s onslaught to advance 5-4 on aggregate following a 2-0 defeat on the night. “Maybe the focus of the criticism when I came in was we couldn’t tough it out but we showed after two games and under a huge amount of pressure that this team could tough it out.”
In that respect, it was a match that showed how little and how much has changed since Rodgers succeeded Ronnie Deila in the summer.
It is difficult not to conclude a Deila side would have crumbled during that fraught period after half-time in which Hapoel took a firm grip, particularly in the light of the catastrophic mix-up between the defender Saidy Janko and the goalkeeper Craig Gordon that gifted the Israeli side their second goal.
Celtic just about managed to steady the ship and Rodgers was helped by his options on the bench. Though the introduction of the in-form Australian midfielder Tom Rogic at half-time initially unbalanced the side, Moussa Dembélé gave Celtic a fresh attacking outlet when brought on in the 57th minute and had chances to make the tie safe.
The manager made a point of praising the chief executive, Peter Lawwell, and the major shareholder, Dermot Desmond, for backing him in the market. “They stuck their neck out and the club has a real positive feel to it at the moment and this was always, hopefully, going to keep that momentum going, so it is a huge step for us,” he said.
The mood is undeniably upbeat, yet Tuesday’s performance carried enough uncomfortable echoes of European calamities to keep feet firmly grounded. Hapoel were desperately close to adding their name to those of Maribor, Malmo and Artmedia Bratislava on the list of unheralded opponents to have inflicted embarrassing early Champions League elimination on Celtic. The Scottish champions’ European performances have established so much of a pattern they have become almost cliched: the rousing home display in front of a crowd capable of generating one of the most intoxicating atmospheres on the continent followed by the abject shapeless surrender abroad.
It is a trend that dates back to Celtic’s first appearances in the group stages at the start of the century, when a much better resourced side under Martin O’Neill could overpower teams such as Juventus at home but struggle to pick up a point on their travels, and which was also seen in Celtic’s last decent run in the competition, in 2012-13, when they famously beat Barcelona at Celtic Park in their group before bowing out to Juventus in the last 16.
They did at least manage their only ever away victory in the competition’s group stages that year, over Spartak Moscow, but Tuesday’s disjointed display demonstrated just how much improvement is needed if they are to avoid humiliation.
Rodgers’ own European record is also a concern. He has not presided over an away win in Europe for eight matches, since Liverpool won 1-0 at Udinese in the Europa League in December 2012. His Liverpool teams lacked defensive solidity and rarely looked capable of digging in for the kind of well-organised away win European competition often demands. This season’s away displays at Lincoln Red Imps in Gibraltar, Aat stana and on Tuesday in Israel have not looked like bucking that trend, even though a swagger has been restored to the team’s attacking football.
Defensively, Celtic have been unconvincing all season, the two goals conceded from a position of strength against Hapoel at home and in the 4-2 win at St Johnstone last weekend providing further evidence of their flakiness. The full-back Janko, a summer signing from Manchester United last year, had a dismal night in Israel, putting further onus on the importance of a strong central partnership of the experienced Kolo Touré and the Danish defender Erik Sviatchenko. Reinforcements may be needed.
For all this though, Celtic fans can feel justified in feeling positive. The absence of Champions League football brought a flatness to recent seasons, and should give their campaign a purpose that will dwarf the return of the Old Firm derby in the league. It also brings cold, hard cash – as much as £30m that will enable Celtic to stretch their financial advantage over the rest of Scottish football, while paradoxically contributing to the lack of competitiveness that has arguably contributed to their recent failings in Europe. Such are the iniquitous realities of the European game and Celtic’s place within it.
For now, though, they can both savour and fret about the campaign ahead. The “mentality” that Rodgers was so quick to praise faces much bigger tests.
