Going into the game against Ferencvaros, there were definite nerves for Celtic fans. After all, they had lost 3-0 to Rangers at Ibrox at the weekend. And their previous tie in Europe was a 5-1 defeat at the hands of LASK in the Champions League play-off.

So, there was reason to be nervous and in many ways, it showed in the performances as well. Celtic lost 3-1 in their own backyard.

It was another sign that Celtic have continuously moved backwards over the years. When these two teams met in Europe in the 21/22 campaign, the Hoops had won both home and away.

Martin O'Neill appears to believe that his team are lacking confidence at the moment. According to The Scotsman, he said:

“I think that confidence is a funny old thing because you can gain it slowly and it can ebb away so quickly.

“I think confidence is a big thing, I think it's a big thing in the game anyway but if one or two players are lacking that then it's part of my job to restore that.

“I think that when you lose a little bit of confidence then you become tentative and I think this is it. I think that the great players play through a crisis of confidence that everybody's had at some stage or another, but for us we have to try and battle through them."

To be fair, it is hard to argue with that view. Celtic have looked like a very different team since that away defeat to LASK in Austria.

Until then, this season had actually looked pretty promising and the Hoops were back to scoring goals for fun domestically.

The Champions League play-off exit, in a tie they were leading 4-0 with 60 minutes to go, has clearly had an effect. Yet, Liam Scales, who scored an own goal against Ferencvaros, does not seem to agree.

According to 67 Hail Hail, when asked if the players were suffering a crisis of confidence, Scales said: “No, definitely not. No crisis.”

Also, when questioned if he agreed with O’Neill describing the defeat as a ‘European lesson’, Scales replied: “No.”

There is no time for Celtic to rest, or no easy games to regain their confidence. Their next matchup is against the Rangers again, a week after that 3-0 defeat at Ibrox.

This time around, it will be at Parkhead. But after two consecutive defeats, it will be very interesting to see how Celtic approach this game.

Obviously, the Rangers will be high on confidence on the back of their win last weekend. But that is a very beatable team.

We have seen Derek McInnes' side fail to qualify for both the Europa League and the Conference League this season. So, there is little reason to view them as a superteam.

It is more about Celtic getting things right. If they can do that, then it should not be a one-sided contest.