Celts skipper Tierney demands his troops end the giveaways

He said: “Yes, there were players missing, but there are no excuses. The team that was out there had quality in every position.

“It’s not that it was a second team, although it wasn’t obviously full strength. The 10 to 15 minutes we switched off for really cost us.

“Back in Glasgow we’ll need to make fewer errors. At this level there are going to be mistakes. It’s just that they took their chances well.”

Tierney may just be 21 but he has already grown weary of such nights. The ones where Celtic start brightly then ship a couple of goals in rapid succession.

The full-back was wearing the armband but it was collective responsibility on a predictably depressing night for a club that have won just twice in 44 away group games in Europe.

Tierney said: “That’s what’s frustrating. Whether I’m captain or not it’s frustrating for everybody. It’s something you want to get out of your game at this level. It’s something we’ll work on again.

“It’s hard because at this level you can’t drop your levels. When the first goal went in it was disappointing because up until that point we’d done well.

“Then we didn’t really play for four, five minutes and they punished us. When it’s 1-0 it’s hard but when it goes to two it’s very difficult to get back into it.

“At half-time we knew we’d need to chase it. We didn’t do that great but we coped well defensively. We changed the formation near the end and had a chance or two.

“We could have nicked a goal, which would have made it interesting, but it was always going to be hard. They are a good team as well and you need to remember that.”

Tierney hasn’t given up the ghost in the Europa League just yet. Leipzig and their Red Bull cousins in Salzburg both have to come to Glasgow while there is Rosenborg in Norway as well.

“It’s another European night at Celtic Park and we know the crowd will be right behind us.”

The raft of absentees handed Lewis Morgan his first start for the club in one of the most unforgiving environments.

The ex-St Mirren kid could hold his head high with a few nice flashes but he was his own harshest critic. He said: “I feel I could’ve done more.

“There is that frustration among the boys that if we had a wee bit more self-belief we could have taken it to them, which you did see in that first half an hour. We did exactly what the manager has asked.

“We matched up with them and were in control so that is something we are going to analyse to make sure we improve.

“Of course we all believe in ourselves. It’s just the game plan had been going so well and we can’t allow that goal to affect us. There is belief all through the team, we believed we could get a result. It was more that we did allow their goal to affect us. It took the sting out of us. That 15-minute period at the end of the first half lost us the game.

“Something that will never waver is the belief we can beat them in Glasgow and that would give us a chance. We can get a result at Celtic Park. We know we can go toe to toe with them.”

It wasn’t the full debut he dreamed of but it’s given Morgan a taste when 12 months ago this week he was facing Morton.

He said: “It was a frustrating night but these are games you want to play in – it’s why I wanted to come to Celtic.”

Jozo Simunovic joining the crock list wasn’t part of the plan but Tierney insists Celts can lick their Leipzig wounds in time for their Betfred Cup semi-final against Hearts.

He said: “We can’t think about this too much right now as we have a massive game on Sunday.”