Strachan horror after Bratislava men hammer Bhoys

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan described tonight’s 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Slovakian champions Artmedia Bratislava as his worst ever experience in football.

The Scot was far from his chirpy self as he attended the post-match press conference following the club’s biggest defeat in Europe.

He had made a disastrous competitive start to his new job, watching his new-look team slump to a humiliating drubbing in the Tehelne Polie Stadium.

The first leg of their Champions League qualifier proved a demoralising night for the Celtic players and supporters and a sickening experience for Strachan on his big night in Bratislava.

“I have been manager for eight years and a player for 25 years and this is out-and-out the worst football night I have ever had,” he said.

The Glasgow giants plunged to an all-time low as their defence fell apart time after time, allowing Juraj Halenar to score a stunning hat-trick.

There were also goals for Blazej Vascak and Martin Mikulic left the Hoops needing to stage a miraculous comeback at Celtic Park next week.

Strachan continued: “You are talking about 33 years in football…that’s a lot of years but this is new to me and I don’t know what to say after a result like that.

“I am in shock and it’s very hard to be coherent and talk about my future and what will happen after this result. But I am not thinking about the next game just now.”

Strachan’s men suffered an early blow when Chris Sutton was stretchered off with a fractured cheekbone after a collision with skipper Neil Lennon.

The manager confirmed: “Chris is a big player but we should be able to handle one injury better than we did. Our thoughts are with him. We have been a bit selfish grieving about us but our thoughts should also be with Chris.”

Celtic look set to miss out on €15m from the lucrative group stages and Strachan instructed his players not to speak after the game.

However, Artmedia coach Vladimir Weiss was also surprised by the result. “This is a wonderful dream,” he said. “But fortunately it’s reality. We performed in an excellent way but the way in which we won was a bit of a surprise.

“We believed before the game that – with the ability we have and with what I have seen of Celtic – we could win.

“A lot of the Celtic players are media stars but I hope they remember our name and the names of the players after tonight.”