Martin O'Neill pointed to refereeing calls and near misses after Celtic's Europa League loss to Celta Vigo, but the uncomfortable question is about quality.
Martin O'Neill left the Celta Vigo defeat talking about fine margins. Refereeing decisions, chances that nearly dropped and moments that just didn't fall Celtic's way were the themes of his post-match reflections after another testing night in the Europa League.
It's a familiar manager's argument, and there is often something to it. European ties can turn on a single whistle or a few centimetres either side of a post. If a couple of those moments break differently, the mood around Celtic Park looks very different this week.
But leaning on marginal calls only goes so far. When a side keeps finding itself on the wrong end of tight contests at this level, the question shifts from bad luck to whether the gap in sharpness, depth and composure is real. Celta Vigo looked comfortable in the details that decide continental games, and Celtic couldn't match them when it counted.
That is the harder conversation for the club. Near misses don't earn points, and excuses wear thin quickly in Europe. Celtic now need to prove that this is a team undone by small moments rather than one that simply isn't good enough for this stage, and the next few fixtures will go a long way towards answering that.
