FORMER midfield hero Stiliyan Petrov watched low-key Celtic exit the Champions League in Kazakhstan last night to wave farewell to a £40million pay day.
Brendan Rodgers’ side went out 3-2 on penalty-kicks after two dismal and disappointing goalless play-off encounters against Kairat Almaty.
The spot-kick shoot-out became a farce with Adam Idah and Luke McCowan seeing their first two tame attempts saved by rookie keeper Temirlan Anarbekov before Callum McGregor and Arne Engels netted their efforts.
After the hosts had struck the bar with their first shot, they were leading 3-2 by the time Daizen Maeda stepped up to take the kick that would keep the Hoops’ hopes alive.
THE FACE OF DISAPPOINTMENT…misfiring Daizen Maeda.
Alarmingly, the Japanese winger hit the ball in the exact same manner as Idah and McCowan and suffered the same fate.
Maeda had also passed up a glorious opportunity to seal the tie near the end of regulation time before blasting the ball carelessly over the bar with just the keeper to beat.
Petrov watched his old team topple out of Europe’s most prestigious tournament and urged the Parkhead powerbrokers to splash the cash before Monday’s 7pm transfer deadline.
The former fans’ favourite said: “They need quite a few players. I think they are probably short of four or five classy players of good quality.
“I think Celtic have always paid attention to development, developing players and giving them time.
“They do have those players, now they need quality. Now they need players who could make a difference.”
Petrov, speaking in a report in the Scottish Sun, added: “My gaffer [Martin O’Neill] always looked for big players, big characters who can make a difference. Sometimes you need players like that.
“I think this Celtic squad do need that kind of help. I think they do need a financial injection.
“They need quality and they need players who can make the difference on the big stage.”
