'It's my fault, we haven't got the players in': New Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou to plead for reinforcements after Champions League disaster in Denmark

• Celtic went out in Champions League qualifiers for the fourth straight year 
• Ange Postecoglou vowed to hammer home the need for new players 
• Brighton target Odsonne Edouard had another lacklustre night

Ange Postecoglou vowed to hammer home the need for new players after Celtic’s latest dismal exit from the Champions League.

The Parkhead club suffered defeat in the qualifiers for the fourth straight year after an extra-time loss to Danish side FC Midtjylland.

A stunning strike from captain Callum McGregor looked set to tee up a clash with PSV in the third qualifying round.

Forced to field a second-string defence after failure to land a raft of new faces, however, Postecoglou’s side missed chances to kill the game before Awer Mabil levelled and substitute Raphael Onyedika claimed the winner early in extra-time.

Needing to win a treacherous clash with Czech side Jablonec to advance to the play-off round of the Europa League, the Australian took responsibility for failing to outline the urgency of the situation to a Parkhead board facing the wrath of supporters.

‘I think it’s my responsibility,’ said Postecoglou (right). ‘I’m the person who has been put in charge. We haven’t got players in. Obviously I haven’t done a good enough job convincing people we need to bring people in.

‘I’m not going to shy away from it. I don’t say that because I’m some kind of martyr. I just think that’s my responsibility. That’s why I was brought in.

‘I’ve tried to be as forceful as I can about what we need to bring in. The challenges we’ve had are well chronicled, but irrespective of the result, we had a really young squad out there with young players on the bench, that’s not the situation we need to be in.’

Swedish international central defender Carl Starfelt will be free of Covid quarantine restrictions in time for the Premiership opener against Hearts at Tynecastle on Saturday night.

Japanese striker Kyogo Furuhashi will also be available soon, while a deal is close for Royal Antwerp right-back Aurelio Buta. Major shareholder Dermot Desmond, meanwhile, is spearheading a move for former England keeper Joe Hart.

Despite dropping Vasilis Barkas for keeper Scott Bain, Postecoglou could do little to change an inexperienced backline featuring Anthony Ralston, Stephen Welsh, Dane Murray and Greg Taylor.

Reiterating the need for more urgency in the transfer market, he added: ‘Maybe I wasn’t clear enough, I don’t know. I think I’ve been pretty consistent in saying we need more players in. 

‘The club is working hard to get players in. We talk endlessly about the challenges we are facing.

‘For our supporters, they just want to see us bring reinforcements in that we need.

‘I’ve just got to keep reinforcing my views on it as strongly as I possibly can.’

Refusing to point the finger directly at the Celtic hierarchy, the former Australia boss said: ‘I don’t blame people. I take responsibility. The responsibility is mine.

‘I can’t fault the effort of the players. It’s not like they gave up or fell apart tonight. They gave everything they could. It was a tight contest and we didn’t get through so we move on to the next game.

‘Big moments in both legs cost us in the end which suggests to me it wasn’t such a demoralising effort. But critical moments change games.

‘In the first game we conceded a goal we shouldn’t have and tonight we missed an opportunity to seal the tie. That’s frustrating but it happens.

‘I thought we were comfortably the better side in the first tie, and I thought we held our own for 65 minutes tonight, but it wasn’t enough.

‘We didn’t take the moments when they were offered to us, and we’ve lost 2-1 in extra-time.’

Insisting the squad will be in a better place for the games against Hearts and Jablonec, he added: ‘Carl Starfelt has obviously come in, Nir Bitton will be back available, Kyogo Furuhashi will come in, so we’ll be stronger in terms of depth and quality, which we need.

‘Guys like James Forrest got his first real run tonight and will be better for it, so I do believe we’ll get stronger and we’ll be in much better shape come the next European tie.

‘More importantly, I want to make sure we start the league well on Saturday and that’s our focus right now.

‘We’ll have reinforcements between now and then which will help, because the players worked awfully hard tonight.’

Explaining the decision to go with Bain over Barkas after a ropey start to the season from the Greek international, the Hoops boss shrugged: ‘Scott has been training well and I just felt that, after the weekend game, that with such a young back four they needed a strong voice behind them.

‘Scott provides that, he is very vocal and he doesn’t mind leading from back there.

‘Barky is a different kind of personality, he is a bit more quiet and reserved.’

On the move for Tottenham’s former England keeper Hart — a target last summer — Postecoglou said: ‘Again we have been linked with so many people and that’s a frustrating bit with me.

‘I would rather be talking about people we brought in rather than people we have been linked with.’

Linked with an £18million move to English Premier League Brighton, French striker Odsonne Edouard had another lacklustre night as Celtic failed to click in attack.

‘He worked awfully hard and gave everything he could,’ said his manager. ‘It wasn’t an easy night for him.

‘We knew that he would have to lead the line for us a little bit.

‘I’m really disappointed and, at the moment, I would rather analyse the game rather than look at each player’s individual performance.’