Three days before the clocks go back, Celtic found themselves running out of time to meet minimal expectations in the Europa League this season.

For the club’s supporters, the sense of gloom at the darker nights being round the corner now extends to their side’s ongoing involvement in continental competition.

While there is evidently plenty to play for in the five remaining group-stage matches, scrambling towards the 11 points which seemingly guarantee qualification for the knock-out round now feels like a task that’s nigh on impossible.

Without a single point after three matches and 35th in a 36-team group, Besiktas are next up in Glasgow in a fortnight. If a first win isn’t on the board by the time the Turks leave town then the game will assuredly be up.

Beyond the arithmetic, it was imperative for Martin O’Neill’s side to end a wretched run of losses to LASK, Ferencvaros and Benfica with a victory — or at least a draw — and an eye-catching performance.

They just didn’t play well enough over the course of the 90 minutes. After three failures in this competition, there’s nothing to suggest that the damage caused by an inauspicious start can yet be repaired.

As expected, Celta Vigo were a very good team, but you would never put them in the upper echelon of European sides. These days, though, you just don’t have to be that accomplished to leave Parkhead with a European victory.

On Wednesday, Shaun Maloney spoke of the need for the players to fight for Celtic’s reputation in Europe with the Lisbon Lions’ 60th anniversary coming up next year. Bluntly, this campaign is fast becoming an embarrassing affair.

Maloney wasn’t buying the suggestion that this current crop of players simply weren’t capable of replicating their annihilation of Hearts on the European stage. Nights like these don’t exactly back up that view.

Having ridden their luck in the first half, Celtic edged in front early in the second period through Mika Baur. You just didn’t sense any great trust among the home supporters that their side could hold on.

Javi Rodriguez, a central defender to trade, supplied the two goals which Celta certainly deserved. By time up, the Spaniards were toying with Celtic. Such a painful sight is fast becoming commonplace in these parts.

O’Neill only made one change to the side which took Hearts apart, but it was an eye-catching one.

Not seen since losing three goals — and the confidence of most supporters — in the League Cup defeat at Ibrox, Sam Johnstone came back in for Viljami Sinisalo in goal.

Injury cost Carl Starfelt the chance to play again at Celtic Park, with World Cup striker Borja Iglesias also sidelined for the men from northern Spain.

It was a strange old evening in many respects in Glasgow’s East End. Protesting at the stewardship of the club, the absence of the Green Brigade ensured the atmosphere wasn’t nearly as thunderous as you come to expect on such nights.

It wasn’t just in that section of the ground where empty seats could be seen. Flashes of green in both tiers were indicative of a European campaign which, so far, had failed to fire the imagination.

Slick and smart in possession, Celta were a typical La Liga side. All they lacked in an impressive first period was a killer instinct.

For 20 minutes, O’Neill’s men struggled to get on the ball, never mind threaten Ionut Radu’s goal. Johnstone was thankful that Colby Donovan got his body in the way of Ferran Jutgia’s strike.

Now almost 40 years of age, Iago Aspas controlled the tempo of the game. Baur did well to go to ground and prevent his shot reaching its intended target.

On the odd occasion the Spaniards turned the ball over, there were no gaps for Celtic’s midfield to exploit. Celta were as impressive off the ball as they were on it.

Callum Osmand looked the best bet to make something happen on the left flank. But the service to him just wasn’t there.

The home side often struggled to clear their lines. Callum McGregor’s wayward pass on the edge of his own box could have spelled danger. Hugo Burcio saw his strike blocked by Donovan.

It took until the midway point of the first half for O’Neill’s men to give their supporters something to shout about. Osmand hit the turf after being challenged by Javi Rueda. 

Any decisions going Celtic’s way would have been extremely generous with replays showing the flashpoint happened outside the box in any event. Camilo Duran picked up a booking for dissent.

Good work by Osmand then dispossessed Celta. Kieran Tierney’s inviting cross found Duran as the only Celtic player in the box.

Having struggled to get to grips with the task, O’Neill’s men gave themselves a shake. There was more aggression to their play from that point until the break. An enterprising run by Duran was halted by Rodriguez. Osmand fired well over.

The space down Celtic’s right whenever their opponents threatened to counter was troubling. Haissem Hassan’s tendency to daydream asked an awful lot of Donovan.

Jutgia got himself on the end of one move which stemmed from that area and fired wide. Johnstone was squarely behind his next effort.

Outplayed for the majority of the first period, for O’Neill’s men to go in at half-time level felt like something of an achievement.

That was nothing compared to what unfolded just two minutes after the restart. Hassan’s decision to simply knock the ball beyond his marker and sprint was handsomely rewarded.

The Egyptian’s cross was contested by Benjamin Nygren and Sebastian Caceres and unconvincingly knocked away by the defender. Baur didn’t exactly release a missile with his right foot, but his shot was strong enough to beat Radu. Celtic Park briefly rejoiced.

Nygren was soon denied a goal of his own, this time by a strong hand by the keeper. By that point, Celta had responded with Johnstone catching an Aspas strike and Aleix Febas smashing a cut-back a foot wide of the target.

With Osmand succumbing to cramp before the hour mark, James Forrest was introduced.

On the other wing, Hassan was starting to relish the challenge. Another burst and a cross picked out Liam Scales. The Irishman’s floating header hit the top of the bar.

With Celta pressing, Duran broke away and went down in a heap. O’Neil screamed for a foul. All he got for his trouble was a booking. But worse was to follow.

Having passed and probed at the home side’s defence all night, Celta’s Hugo Alvarez whipped in a quite brilliant free-kick. Rodriguez’s header was powerful though straight at Johnstone. The keeper couldn’t get a strong enough hand on it to keep it out.

Within four minutes, Celta had turned the game on its head. With O’Neill’s men at sixes and sevens, they managed to repel a couple of strikes but could do nothing when Rodriguez then connected cleanly with the ball on the edge of the box. This time, Johnstone could do absolutely nothing.

There was a sense of inevitability about how the game would play out. For Celtic supporters on such nights, that feeling is becoming extremely familiar.