"From then on, I believe that Celtic should be aspiring to that." Martin O'Neill used his pre-Lask Linz news conference to put the bar back where he thinks it belongs, with Celtic facing the Champions League play-off round and a route into the league phase still on the line. He also tied that ambition to the club’s 1967 European Cup win and the reality of modern finances.
Celtic's old benchmark
The line O'Neill reached for was simple. The [Lisbon Lions] won the European Cup in 1967, and he said that was the standard from which Celtic should still be measuring themselves. When the 2027 Champions League final is held in Madrid, 60 years will have passed since Billy McNeil lifted the trophy.
He did not hide the obstacle. O'Neill said the financial market has made it more difficult for a team from Scotland to get there, but he still wants the club to aspire to it. That is a far more demanding message than talk of merely surviving the play-off round.
Celtic's recent European record gives the target some grounding. They earned 11 points in the 2025 UEFA Europa League league phase, scored 13 goals and conceded 15 across 8 matches. That is the level they need to carry into a tougher competition if they do get through LASK.
The stakes around the LASK tie
Qualification is not just about the badge and the bracket. Champions League qualification could be worth an estimated £40m, and if Celtic beat LASK they would receive around £16m in automatic prize money even if they lose all eight league phase matches.
The squad investment reflects that scale. More than £30m has been spent on summer acquisitions, including Kasper Hogh, Camilo Duran, Hasseim Hassan and Mika Baur, while Arne Engels was the subject of a £25m bid from Nottingham Forest just days before the play-off.
O'Neill's view of the signings was upbeat. He said, "I like the players that we've signed. I think the quality that we've brought in will bear fruit during the course of the season."
There is a football case behind the spending as well. Celtic finished 1st in the 2025 Premiership championship round after placing 3rd in the regular-season table, and they come into this tie on 5 straight wins. The last home European game story is less tidy, with one source describing a fifth consecutive Champions League qualifying exit and another noting a 4-1 defeat to Stuttgart in the Europa League. Either way, the club know this tie carries more weight than a normal August night.
The real point in O'Neill's message is that Celtic should not shrink their target to fit the finances. The gap is obvious, but the ambition is still supposed to run all the way to winning the competition, and LASK is the first step in testing whether this squad can keep that standard alive.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
