This article is part of Football FanCast's Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba's haircuts to League Two relegation battles...

Celtic's Champions League exit on Tuesday was embarrassing and avoidable, but there can be positives taken from such a crushing defeat.

Every cloud

After a 5-4 aggregate defeat at the hands of Romanian champions Cluj on Tuesday, Neil Lennon's men are out of the Champions League and still have to secure a place in the Europa League.

It was a woeful night at Parkhead that needn't have been as difficult as the Celts made it look. 3-2 up at one point, the game should've been seen out, yet Cluj turned it around and won 4-3 in Glasgow.

The finger-pointing has taken place and nobody is safe. The board, namely Peter Lawwell, Neil Lennon and the players have taken a great deal of criticism since the final whistle blew.

None of this is without merit, Celtic should've beaten Cluj. Yet from the anger, bitterness and disappointment, the club can come out of this far better than it looks right now.

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Silver lining

The monetary benefits of Champions League football are obvious, yet having secured £25m for Kieran Tierney and a decent pay-out when Brendan Rodgers went to Leicester in February, the club can absorb the financial blow. So playing Europa League football might not be the worst idea for this season.

Qualification to the second-tier tournament would significantly lower the chances of massive defeats (like against PSG and Barcelona of late) that could dent morale in a season that's shaping up to be tough.

While no one really fancies trekking across Europe on a Thursday, it has to be better than taking a thumping off of the glamourous first seed side in a Champions League group.

Keith from C'mon the Hoops throws back to player who was both a Hoop by name and by nature in the video below...

Failing that, defeat in the Europa League play-off would give Lennon free midweeks to work with his side. It's easy to forget he's still in the infancy of the job and any time at Lennoxtown will be appreciated as he looks to shape his new-look squad.

While a travesty, Celtic might look back at Tuesday's defeat in May as something of a blessing if it helps them secure a ninth consecutive league title and fourth consecutive treble.

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