Martin O'Neill's men are emabrking on a brutal run of fixtures but Swede is adamant that can't be used to dismiss Euro failures

Celtic could use all sorts of excuses for crashing to yet another European tanking.

But Benjamin Nygren isn’t buying any of them.

The Swedish playmaker watched from the bench as Benfica stormed into a three-goal lead inside 36 minutes on Thursday night.

With the points all but secured by half-time, the Portuguese giants took their foot off the gas after the break, allowing Camilo Duran to snatch one back.

But any faint hopes of a remarkable comeback were extinguished when Vangelis Pavlidis struck a fourth in the closing stages.

The Lisbon thrashing was another bitter blow for the Hoops, who are at the start of a gruelling nine-game schedule before next month’s international break.

But Nygren insists Celtic ’s jam-packed calendar is no excuse for their repeated shortcomings on the continental stage.

He said: "When you're a Celtic player you want to play in the biggest competitions in European football, so you want to play those games.

“I think this is how it is when you play European football. You have a lot of games, so we're pretty used to playing every three or four days.

"Unfortunately we didn't win on Thursday, but we played a good side, so we just have to focus on the next game and to win that game.

"I was on the pitch in the second half and at that time I thought we took over the game a little bit. We got a goal and played a bit better but the first half was a bit difficult to watch because we were down 3-0.

"You always have to believe. In the second half when we scored, I thought we could come back into the game. I thought we had momentum.

"I thought we played better than the opposition at that time so I always believed.”

Two drubbings have left Celtic pointless in the Europa League, with their hopes of reaching the knockout stages already under severe threat.

Next week’s visit of Celta Vigo has been billed as a must-win, but Nygren insists there is still plenty of time to turn things around.

He said: "Yes, that's what you always have to believe. It's still six games to go so it's in our own hands."

The Parkhead club’s 4-1 thrashing in Lisbon was another unwanted setback just days after snapping a three-game losing streak at Fir Park.

The spotlight is back on under-fire boss Martin O’Neill to turn things around - with Hearts up next tomorrow.

Asked to explain what is going wrong, Nygren refused to point fingers.

He said: "I don't know, it's not really a question for me to answer.

“Me as a player, I just try to focus on training good every day, do as well as possible when I'm on the pitch, try to give my all all the time, so that's my focus.”

Nygren hopes Celtic can bounce back when they briefly return to Premiership duties in tomorrow’s mouthwatering showdown with Hearts.

The Jambos are back in Glasgow’s east end for the first time since their heartbreaking title defeat last season.

He said: "It's a big game, a very important game, so I'm looking forward to it.

“Will they come with motivation? Of course, I think they do every time. I think all teams do when they come to Celtic Park and play us.

"Last time we played was a very special game, a game I will never forget. It was a great day and a great ending. You always bring good memories to games.”