Celtic slumped to a truly horrific defeat in Gibraltar on Tuesday night, their well-paid professionals proving no match for the might of the Lincoln Red Imps.
It was not an ideal start for Brendan Rodgers in his first game as Parkhead coach, but he has insisted it wasn’t an embarrassment.
When asked whether there were red faces in the dressing room, the Celtic manager said: “No. There is obviously disappointment. We understand where we want to get to and what we want to achieve.
‘But there is no embarrassment. It was a tough game in tough conditions.”
But should he be ashamed?
And is it the worst ever result by a Scottish team?
It is certainly right up there but here are some other contenders:
Rangers 1 Unirea Urziceni 4
Romanian minnows Unirea put Rangers to the sword in the 2009 Champions League.
Rangers had taken the lead only a few minutes in but Walter Smith’s side soon crumbled, with own goals from Lee McCulloch and Kyle Lafferty among the lowlights.
Celtic 0 – Artmedia Bratislava 5
If Brendan Rodgers can take any comfort, it will perhaps come in recalling Gordon Strachan’s first competitive match in charge, which was just about as bad.
The Hoops looked sure to qualify for the Champions League in 2005 but Artmedia hadn’t read the script.
Scotland 0 Uruguay 7
Of course, our national team has also had its moments.
And one of the very worst came in the 1954 World Cup courtesy of this horrific defeat to Uruguay.
The South Americans ran in no fewer than 7 (seven) goals without reply. D’oh.
Teams closer to home have also had their moments in recent years…
A dark day for Dundee
A new year Dundee derby in 2015 promised thrills and spills.
And it delivered. The thrills were all United with beleaguered Dundee having all the spills in the 6-2 thrashing. Ouch.
Dundee’s revenge is “dark day” for United
The Dens Park team didn’t have to wait too long to get their revenge on their Sandeman Street neighbours, as two goals consigned United to relegation in the “Doon Derby”.
The match made Craig Wighton a Dark Blue hero, on a night Tannadice chairman Stephen Thompson later described as his “darkest” in football.
