ROY KEANE has sent a blistering reminder to Celtic stars they don’t play for Altrincham!
The Republic of Ireland legend admitted he had been massively disappointed in the Hoops in Europe this season – and not just the 7-0 humbling against Barcelona on Tuesday.
Keane, 45, who was linked with the Parkhead hot-seat before Ronny Deila got the job in June 2014, aimed some scathing comments at his old club.
Speaking on last night’s Champions League Highlights show the former Celt said: “They need to do a lot better in Europe. Easier said than done, of course.
“But even in qualifying, they were poor. They scraped through.
“The whole mindset has to change. Don’t accept, especially away from home, being the whipping boys of Europe.
“It’s Celtic, a huge club.”
Keane, Martin O’Neill’s international assistant who spent six months at the club in 2006, added: “When they qualified for the group, the celebrations, for me, were way over the top.
“I actually thought they’d won the competition! People were hugging each other, the manager, the coaches, the players.
“It’s not Altrincham, it’s Celtic!”
The relief from Brendan Rodgers and his players was obvious when they overcame Israel’s Hapoel Be’er Sheva 5-4 on aggregate in the final play-off encounter.
It was the first time the club had qualified for Europe’s main event after two years in the wilderness under Deila.
Keane, though, was far from impressed by their apparent acceptance at being turned over by the Barca superstars.
It was the team’s fourth away game in Europe during this campaign and was their third defeat following the embarrassing 1-0 loss in Gibraltar to the semi-professionals of Lincoln Red Imps and the 2-0 reverse in Israel.
A late goal from Leigh Griffiths gave Celtic a 1-1 draw against Astana in Kazakhstan. They claimed a 2-1 win in the return with a last-minute penalty-kick from Moussa Dembele after beating Red Imps 3-0 in the previous round. The Bhoys overcame Hapoel 5-2 in their other home game.
Next up for Rodgers and his players are Manchester City in Glasgow on Wednesday, September 28. A hat-trick from Argentinian ace Sergio Aguero gave them a 4-0 win over other group rivals Borussia Monchengladbach at the Etihad in midweek.
