A quarter of a century on from guiding Celtic to the Champions League for the first time, Martin O’Neill finds himself standing on the cusp of the promised land with unfinished business on his mind.Hard on the heels of clinching the Treble in his first season in Glasgow, the Northern Irishman set about re-establishing the club’s reputation in Europe.A stunning display away to Ajax in the first leg of the play-off for season 2001-02 established a 3-1 lead which would prove unassailable. It was at that point that Lady Luck seemed to turn her back on the man from Kilrea.O’Neill’s men took care of business at home to Porto, Rosenborg and Juventus, but, crucially, failed to snatch anything on the road.In almost any other year, the nine points accrued would have been sufficient to take them through to the next phase. Almost unfathomably, O’Neill’s men somehow failed to make the cut.With the memory of a hotly disputed penalty in Turin on the opening night still fresh in his mind, time — in this instance — has not been the great healer. Martin O’Neill celebrates as Celtic defeat Juventus at Parkhead in 2001‘Those were big blows for us not to get through the group stages because I felt we could have got to the knockout stages,’ he recalled ahead of tonight’s play-off against LASK.‘I do think we had the wherewithal to do fine there as well.‘I can semi-base that on the fact Porto only just beat us in the UEFA Cup Final and then went on to win it the following year with essentially the same team.‘I didn’t think we played particularly well in the Rosenborg (away) game, but we got the nine points.‘You start to look back on the little things. The penalty in the last minute at Juventus wasn’t remotely a penalty. It wasn’t even a foul.‘We would have made it through and it would have been lovely to have got there. It is what it is, I guess. In terms of now and having a chance of doing it, well, we could get dumped out in this round.’As disappointing as that inaugural adventure turned out, the storied night in Amsterdam remains a highlight of his first tenure.‘That was a really great night,’ he recalled. ‘I was just speaking to Didier Agathe recently about that. He scored over there. Miraculously. It wasn’t his strong point, but he was so good.‘It was a great night, great to qualify, you know.‘We did brilliantly there and then we got very nervous for the second leg here. We lost the game, but got through, which was great.’O’Neill would give his right arm for a nervous night in Austria next Tuesday provided the outcome is again favourable.In terms of prestige and finance, these play-offs are simply gargantuan. Didier Agathe scores in Celtic’s Champions League play-off win over Ajax back in 2001Were his side to prevail, the club would have the time and wherewithal to land the players he craves. If they fall short, as they did last season, the dark clouds will gather again.With four players already in the building for a combined £30m, the hierarchy have certainly done more in the market than prior to the ill-fated clash with Kairat Almaty.Whether they have done quite enough, we shall know soon enough.‘With respect to Kairat Almaty, from what I saw last year, I think this tie will be more difficult,’ O’Neill said.‘I feel Celtic should really have gone through last year. That’s the feeling with the group of players we still have. There was massive disappointment because they failed to score a goal over the two legs.‘Do I think we are better equipped as a football club now? I think there are more goals in the team now than last season.‘That is absolutely the case. We are capable of scoring more goals.‘We might draw a blank in both matches, but it won’t stop me from feeling we are capable of scoring some goals.’Across his two stints last year, O’Neill succeeded in securing a place in the knockout round of the Europa League where VfB Stuttgart proved to be too big an ask.Such runs invariably give rise to the view that Celtic are more at home in UEFA’s second competition.O’Neill hears this. Given the history of the club he’s supported all his life, it’s just not something he concurs with. Henrik Larsson celebrates with Stilyan Petrov after scoring against Porto in 2001‘I think that the bar was set down here way back in 1967,’ he said. ‘And from then on, I believe that Celtic should be aspiring to that.‘Celtic did fine the last time they were in the group stage when you think about getting hammered in Dortmund and learned from the process, getting the draw in Atalanta and then beating Leipzig.‘It gives you a bit of confidence to go and qualify. I was out in Munich where I thought the team played exceptionally well.‘The disappointed came from that the next year, when expectations were really high and suddenly you don’t even play in the Champions League.‘Whether you are ready or not, it’s immaterial. You should take the opportunity.’It’s not just the threat posed by the Austrian double winners which will be of concern to O’Neill.Since the Northern Irishman started the ball rolling with that a famous win over Ajax, Celtic’s record in Champions League qualifiers is poor. All told, the club have had 18 cracks at negotiating the minefield. They’ve come through it just seven times.While the likes of Basel and Arsenal were clearly tough opponents, Celtic have succumbed to far too many lesser light — Artmedia, Cluj, Ferencvaros and Kairat.‘We will make an all-out effort to try and make it,’ said O’Neill.‘Of course, if we don’t do, we’ll be naturally disappointed.‘It just sets an air of despondency around the club.’ Celtic lost to Kairat Almaty in last season’s Champions League play-off tieLASK were arguably the toughest match-up Celtic could have got at this juncture.Physical, strong and with pace running through their ranks, Dietmar Kuhbauer’s side are still on a high after winning the double for the first time in their history.Their best run on this stage was reaching the last 16 of the Europa League in 2019-20, where they were edged out by Manchester United.While they’ve never made it to the Champions League group stage, there’s a sense that this is a club on the rise.‘They are very big and strong,’ O’Neill warned. ‘Their set-piece is very good, they take long throws and get the ball in the box. They have a bit of pace with the two boys up front, who are really decent.‘The main striker (Samuel Adeniran) is a big, strong boy. We have to deal with that. I’m not playing it down, this will be difficult.’