Martin O’Neill refused to use the Celtic squad as an excuse after the 2-1 defeat to Celta Vigo left the Hoops with no points from three Europa League games.

Celtic had led at Parkhead through Mika Baur early in the second half, but Javi Rodriguez scored twice in quick succession to turn the game around for the La Liga side.

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After the match, O’Neill was asked whether a lack of European experience in the squad had played a part.

He admitted some players are still learning at this level, but stopped short of using that as a reason for the result.

Speaking after the match, O’Neill said: (BBC Sport), “It is tough for us.

“There are some fine sides playing in European football, but tonight I thought we competed strongly.

“I take your point about the fact that when we conceded, we might have just lost that bit of momentum for it.

“But it was still a really tight game. Genuinely tight. And we can learn.

“We’ve got some players here who have maybe not as much European experience as you would want.

“These games are tough. Home or away.”

There are younger players being asked to handle difficult European nights, while others are still settling into the squad. Callum Osmand has only recently returned from injury, Dane Murray has stepped into a bigger role at centre-back, and Mika Baur is still finding his way through his first proper run in the team.

But O’Neill would not go too far down the squad-excuse route.

Asked whether Celtic might be having a different conversation if he had more European experience or a higher level of player available, he said: “I wouldn’t go down that path at this minute.

“We have what we have. We have to try and compete.

“And I thought tonight we did.”

O’Neill clearly feels there was enough in the performance to win the match. The problem is Celtic did not win it, and the squad now has to find a way to turn decent spells into points.

January will bring the usual arguments about what Celtic should have added and what still needs fixed. O’Neill, though, is not leaning on that. His point is that this squad has to deal with the situation it is in and start turning these European performances into results.