WHEN there is so much anger and disappointment at the kind of result Celtic had on Tuesday night, you know there will be widespread flak. If you are the Celtic manager, you accept that you are going to get it in the neck.

Ronny Deila will have felt it keenly this week and, to a lesser extent, the Celtic board.

But in my own opinion, it is the players who by and large have to stand up and accept the responsibility of Celtic’s failure to make it into the lucrative group stages of the Uefa Champions League.

I don’t buy the criticism of the manager that his team selection was wrong or his tactics were wrong.

It was a limp and inept Celtic performance that lacked desire and commitment and never more so in the second half of that 45 minutes in Malmo when Celtic never looked likely of getting back into the game.

The bottom line for me was that the Malmo players looked far more committed to their cause than the Celtic players did at the Swedbank Stadium.

And while I would never have been one to slaughter players in public, had I been in Deila’s shoes there is no question that I would have left many of them without a leg to stand on in the privacy of the Celtic dressing room.

From the early minutes of the game Markus Rosenberg set the tone for the game — and his team-mates and supporters followed his lead.

The Malmo captain was clever in the way he put himself about. He was subtle but he took control whenever the ball was anywhere near him and his aggression was controlled to such a way that he basically had the run of the Celtic defence.

By contrast, the aggression that Leigh Griffiths showed was fortunate not to end up with Celtic down to 10 men.

I don’t know what he was thinking when his knee rose to meet the nether regions of Anton Tinnerholm but it was an act of utter stupidity.

So while Malmo have Rosenberg running around controlling the game where it matters and yanking the Celtic defence all over the place, Celtic have Griffiths losing his discipline and acting stupidly and in a way that has no positive bearing on the outcome of the game.

As soon as the whistle blows on a result like that, you know the manager is in for it.

I have been in that position and while people may suggest that I am part of the management union, I honestly feel that there is a point when players also have to hold their hands up.

They were shocking and they deserve the flak that is coming their way just now.

Those players were good enough to beat Malmo but for whatever reason, they did not produce the goods when it mattered.

To me, it was Malmo who showed the greatest hunger for the win, who showed a physicality and a commitment that Celtic could not match and that is very disappointing.

There are times when you can accept being beaten when you have acquitted yourself in a certain manner, but against Malmo, Celtic were just never in it.

It was such a contrast to the way in which they ran over the top of them in the first leg in Glasgow and in many ways you can appreciate now just how vital that goal they lost in the 95th minute of the first leg was.

To lose three goals from set-pieces is desperately poor.

People complain about zonal marking — and I would have to say I prefer man marking — but whatever system you use you must attack the ball.

Celtic’s defence were guilty of ball-watching and at this level it just isn’t good enough.

Criticism comes with the territory when you play with Celtic and they need to take it — players, management, board.

Everyone was desperate to get through, the focus of the season very much lies on these games but the thing about football is that you must go on.

As hard as that is, you need to dust yourself down and get ready to go again.

It is not easy and it is inevitable that there will be some kind of a hangover but what do you do? You cannot lie in bed all day — you have to get up and get on with it.

The Celtic fans have always been particularly good at getting behind the team after an adverse result, but if they don’t get the kind of performance they want on Saturday then they will not be slow in making their feelings known.

In that respect, it is vital that they dust themselves down and get ready to get back on the park.

The hangover will linger — but they cannot afford the result to fester into the domestic season.

Celtic must be ready to go again against St Johnstone after Euro exit

IT is St Johnstone for Celtic tomorrow and it will be flat.

It is impossible for it to be anything but in the aftermath of not making the Champions League.

But for the manager and players, they must find a performance and get things going again.

It is not an easy thing to do.

But this is the last display before the break for international football and the last thing you want is for this result to linger.

If you don’t get the performance and win that you want against St Johnstone then the danger is that the hangover remains.

It is not pretty, it is hard to drag yourself through a game when you are hurting the way that Celtic are.

They have to get on with it because there is no other choice.

Everyone will be sore for quite some time but there are games to be played and if you are a Celtic player then you need to be prepared to go out and put in a performance befitting the club.

Glasgow Times:

Van Dijk departure is no real surprise

VIRGIL VAN DIJK’S move to the Premiership now seems simply a matter of when rather than if.

There was always a slight chance that he may have opted to stay in Glasgow for another season had there been Champions League football on offer but with that now gone then his time in Glasgow is up.

Celtic’s transfer policy for the last six or seven years has been to follow the blueprint of bringing in young players to the club and selling them on further down the line at profit.

It works relatively well but it is at this stage that it can be difficult.

Van Dijk’s departure will not catch anyone by surprise and I am sure that Celtic will have someone earmarked to take his place.

But at this stage of the transfer window, clubs and players can take advantage of the fact they know you are now desperate to get someone in and that you have to pay premium rates to get them.

Yet, the reality of the financial situation is that this is where we are. I have heard criticism regarding the lack of spending at Celtic this summer and it has been cited for the failure to get into the Champions League group stages, but to me there is no other way.

Burnley – let me say that again – Burnley, have just paid £8m to Brentford for the services of Andre Gray. Where can Celtic go in order to compete with that kind of money?

Can they pay £10m for a player? £15m? Can they go over the £25k limit in terms of salaries? And if they do that for one player, what happens to morale within the dressing room?

Isn’t this the policy at Ibrox that ultimately caught up with Rangers so badly? I just don’t think it is viable for Celtic to be able to shell out that kind of cash for players.

As difficult it is, the business plan has to remain the same. And players like Van Dijk will continue to come and go.

Your question for Davie Hay

JAMES TONER from Stepps asked Davie: How difficult is it to ignore criticism in the face of a result like the midweek defeat?

As a manager you have to be strong and you have to assert your authority quickly because the players take their lead from you.

You have to keep your own counsel and not be distracted by criticism going on all over the place about you and to you.

I remember one occasion after having lost at Ibrox – and I always found it sore to lose to anyone – that I was due to attend a supporters’ function that evening.

They lifted me and I think in terms of adversity you have to be prepared to get on with it.

If you have a question for Davie, just email him at davie.hay@eveningtimes.co.uk and we’ll print the answer alongside the question.