Celtic are trapped in no man’s land but their approach in Dortmund was madness and it cannot carry on like this, writes STEPHEN McGOWAN

Celtic’s latest Champions League disaster provides yet another excuse to paraphrase an old quote about the definition of madness.

When it comes to building teams in the Champions League, Brendan Rodgers makes a habit of doing the same things over and over again. He defies the growing body of evidence that it doesn’t work and expects a different outcome every time.

In the Northern Irishman’s two spells in charge, the Scottish champions have now lost seven goals to Europe’s elite three times.

There was a thrashing in Barcelona, ​​and another in Paris before they lost six in Madrid last season. Throw a five against PSG for the first time and the argument for a more pragmatic approach becomes an open and shut case.

Celtic’s board were publicly urged to show more courage during the transfer window and responded by breaking the club’s record fee twice by signing Adam Idah and Arne Engels during the summer.

It was a cathartic evening for the Scottish giants as they were completely outclassed by Dortmund

This is the third time Celtic have conceded seven in the Champions League under Rodgers

In return for shifting their approach to competition in Europe, directors have the right to expect the same from the manager.

For this group of players, a narrow defeat on foreign territory would mean progress. After a 5-1 win over Slovan Bratislava on the opening night, there was an acceptable way to lose to a Dortmund team operating at a different level, and that wasn’t the case with seven goals.

Rodgers is entitled to ask whether the players are a bigger problem than the tactics. Faced with superior players, even the most pragmatic teams lose games, while Cameron Carter-Vickers, the strongest defender, has developed the unfortunate habit of breaking down as soon as he hears the soundcheck for the Champions League theme tune.

Spending £6m doesn’t buy much at this level, and replacement Auston Trusty’s performance in Dortmund proved that.

Murdo MacLeod was welcomed back to the renamed Westfalenstadion for the meeting of his old clubs, leaving a Celtic side known for leaking goals like a sieve to move to Germany in the late ’80s.

Even taking into account the seismic changes in the modern game, MacLeod and his colleagues never lost seven goals in Europe. In contrast, some players in the current squad have now done it three times.

Captain Callum McGregor rightly refused to resort to excuses. In their last seven away games against Europe’s elite clubs, Celtic have now scored 26 goals. Almost four per match, they can’t continue like this.

It made sense that the Signal Iduna Park offered a greater challenge than McDiarmid Park and that lining up as if they were facing St. Johnstone was a triumph of hope over reality.

Next time, play in the same 4-3-3 formation and press against Europa League winners Atalanta in Bergamo, and further humiliation seems likely.

Rodgers needs to adapt and stop doing the same things over and over again in these games

This was not an acceptable way to lose and Celtic cannot remain open like this

If they play Atalanta in the same way next time, further humiliation seems likely

Trapped in a no man’s land, the money Celtic rake in for their annual Champions League thrashing is more than enough to boss domestic rivals in the SPFL and not nearly enough to take on the best teams in Europe.

Faced with this uncomfortable truth, the manager’s job is to find the middle ground between the all-out attack that blows away teams in the Scottish Premiership and the pragmatism required to stem the flow of blood in Europe against better-resourced teams.

While the loss of seven goals makes no tangible difference to the hopes of reaching the play-off round as one of the top 24 teams in the new competition format, it does torpedo the idea that this Celtic team is distinctly different from the others on the grain is taken. strange ground under Rodgers. A change in approach may be the only way to find out if this will ever be the case.