There is bound to be disappointment over the lacklustre way Celtic ’s European campaign came to an end in the Arctic Circle.
But if Ange Postecoglou gets his hands on the Premiership title then the only people who will remember Bodo will be the poor fans who froze their b******s off out there.
That’s the bottom line.
Even the supporters who braved the cold out there will accept it if the ultimate goal is achieved this season – and the huge prize of a Champions League group place that comes with it.
That doesn’t mean the Euro exit gets completely glossed over.
Losing 5-1 over two games to the champions of Norway is a bit embarrassing, to be frank.
I don’t think anyone can deny the strides that have been made under Postecoglou this season. You look at the mess he inherited and how he's got this team to the top of the table and you can’t help but be impressed with the job he’s done.
But the other night in Bodo can't be sugar coated. It was a poor performance on the back of a damaging first leg and Celtic really have to do better.
I get the fact the league is the be all and end all this season – particularly with the potential rewards available.
Yet this was an opportunity to go far in a European competition and it really feels like a chance missed.
People will say they can now concentrate on the league and it could actually be spun as some kind of positive.
But the reality is that this was a chance to have a real go at doing something in Europe and it’s been passed up.
In the big picture, Celtic have not been good enough in continental competition for a very long time and that will be something the manager will have to address as he goes on.
Shunted out of the Champions League qualifiers and scraping around the Europa League and now Conference League is not good enough for this club.
We keep being told Celtic are a big European side but they results haven’t backed it up in recent years, stretching back way before the current boss.
Postecogou gets a pass this season as he’s only started a major rebuild – but there will still be some regrets from this tie.
There was a big fall out over the team selection and I get that. Postecoglou said it was a freshened team rather than a weakened team and he wasn’t making Hibs tomorrow a priority.
No one buys that. You can’t tell me he would have put out that side if they were leading 1-0 from the first leg.
No chance.
But Postecoglou might have taken one look at that surface and though his main men were not worth the risk.
It was still a strong team but you only have to look at the bench. They had the best defender this season in Cameron Carter-Vickers, the two best wingers in Jota and Liel Abada and the club captain who has been absolutely vital to everything the side plays.
Chuck in the first choice full backs and Reo Hatate and you know they are all likely to be back in at Easter Road tomorrow.
But I actually think it was a mistake not training on the pitch the night before. I can understand it’s just the way Postecoglou likes to prepare for European games but this wasn’t a trip to Spain or Germany when you know what to expect.
This was the Arctic Circle on a plastic pitch. When I was a player I liked going to the ground the night before and getting a feel for the place.
You get a sense of the surroundings, get a feel for the speed of the pitch and the bounce of the ball.
It’s even more important when you consider the fairly unique environment Celtic were heading to on Thursday.
By the time they got to grips with the surface the tie was over. I just got the feeling they never really had the belief they’d turn it around.
It should have been a big chance for the players coming in with a point to prove but they didn’t exactly come to the party. It was a sloppy display as much as anything.
What is clear is the pressure is now on to win against Hibs. They simply have to win or the decision in Norway will be pointless.
This is a crucial time for Celtic. They haven’t been quite as fluent in the last few weeks. Since they hammered Rangers there was the Motherwell win and the first half against Aberdeen, but it’s been more of a struggle at times.
That’s going to happen and there are always going to be spells when you need to grind our results.
We know there remains a vulnerability at the back from set pieces and that’s not likely to change now with 11 games to go.
But it’s been a remarkable turnaround to go from losing a league by 25 points to sitting three clear heading in to the home stretch.
Now it gets real and with Rangers still in Europe, Celtic will get the chance to pile on the pressure by playing first over the next few weekends.
That could be a huge psychological benefit – but only if you keep winning.
At least the Bodo bench warmers will be fit and fresh for Hibs tomorrow and they’ll need to prove the manager got it right in making the Premiership the priority.
