Ronny Deila fumes after Celtic are thrashed 4-1 by by Legia Warsaw in Champions League qualifier

  • Celtic beaten 4-1 by Legia Warsaw in Champions League qualifier
  • Ronny Deila's side must win 3-0 to progress to next round
  • Deila fumes at his players after humiliating defeat

Ronny Deila tore into his Celtic players after their Champions League hopes were blown to pieces by Henning Berg’s Poles.

The Scottish champions now require a miracle at Murrayfield next week if they are to stay in Europe’s premier competition following an abysmal performance which saw Efe Ambrose dismissed on the stroke of half-time.

After Callum McGregor gave Celtic an early lead, two goals from Miroslav Radovic and one apiece from Michal Zyro and Jakub Koseci saw Legia Warsaw shoot down the visitors - and remarkably the scoreline could have been even worse had Ivica Vrdoljak not missed a penalty and had a second one saved by Fraser Forster.

Humiliated: Celtic's players trudge off the pitch after they were comfortably beaten on Wednesday night

Humiliated: Celtic's players trudge off the pitch after they were comfortably beaten on Wednesday night

With Celtic needing a 3-0 win in the unfamiliar surroundings of the national rugby stadium, furious fans will be questioning the logic of handing over Celtic Park over for the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games.

Angered by a ‘poor’ display and ‘stupid mistakes’, Deila said: ‘It was a very poor performance and worst of all was the commitment, the energy. I need much more energy in the game. We didn’t stay together for 90 minutes.

‘We started well and got the first goal but then gave way to pressure and lost our heads. We started giving the ball way in midfield so many times and mistakes in the back four, some were high, some were low, instead of being together.

‘But what is done is done, we have to learn from this very quick. We got the away goal and we still have a chance.

Pandemonium: Legia Warsaw's players go wild after Miroslav Radovic scores his first goal

Pandemonium: Legia Warsaw's players go wild after Miroslav Radovic scores his first goal

‘It is possible to win 3-0 again - like we did last year in the play-off - and with the help of the supporters we will do everything we can to do that.

‘But we have to learn from this week. We need a whole different attitude and discipline in our play.’

The Norwegian did not excuse himself from blame and vowed to make himself clearer in his instructions ahead of the second leg, insisting his team should not have gone on the offensive after Radovic put the Poles in front just before half time.

‘It was not the plan to go forward at 2-1. We had a spell when we had good control but started making stupid mistakes and they got space behind us.

Mountain to climb: Deila must somehow inspire Celtic to overcome the three-goal deficit

Mountain to climb: Deila must somehow inspire Celtic to overcome the three-goal deficit

‘That is my responsibility. I have to be much clearer as to what I expect and how we perform as a team, defensively and offensively, and tonight we lost our heads and that is not good enough.’

Deila was not too harsh on Ambrose whose defending was ropey before he was sent off for a ‘last man’ challenge on Mical Kucharczyk.

‘It is not only that situation, it was a consequence of many situations. We lost the ball too much in middle, the back four was not together and when we lost the ball we were too open.

‘We made it difficult for ourselves and in the end they got a counter-attack and Efe went in, but it was a more of a consequence of bad defending.’

Long journey home: Celtic fans will not be please with what they saw from their side

Long journey home: Celtic fans will not be please with what they saw from their side

Legia boss Berg was delighted by the way his side kept going despite missing two penalties.

‘We didn’t feel sorry for ourselves, we pushed and got more goals and we could have scored more,’ said the former Rangers player.

‘It is not normal to miss two penalties, especially for Ivica as he has never missed for me. Ivo was confident but that is football. But I am very happy with the way we played and so happy for my players to show what we can do in a game like this.’