YOU CAN SET YOUR WATCH BY TOMMY
Drop everything if Rogic has ball says Ange
TOM ROGIC served up a lunchtime feast at Tannadice but his gaffer reckons folk should put down the forks when the Aussie goes to work.
Punters were left drooling as the playmaker devoured Dundee United and Ange Postecoglou admitted sometimes you just need to sit back and take it all in.
Rogic’s sublime opener was just the start as Celtic refused to make a meal out of a trip to Tayside.
The Hoops boss enjoyed it every bit as much as the Celtic fans.
Postecoglou said: “Tom’s just one of those players. When he gets the ball, put down your phones, stop eating and drinking, just watch – because something will happen.
“It’s not just his technique. He’s a strong player, hard to knock off the ball. United have a strong team in the middle of the park, they’re physical and they shut teams down and it’s not an easy pitch.
“But I’ve always enjoyed coaching Tommy. I had him for a number of the years with the national team.
“Even as a manager, I get excited when he’s playing his football.
“I hope he loves working with me. I hope they all do. Maybe love is a strong word but I hope they enjoy what we do on a daily basis.
“For me, with all footballers, it’s about helping them be the best they can be – and get the best out of their careers.
“Tommy is one of those guys I take great pride in working with and seeing him develop.”
Rogic was dish of the day but Celts made mincemeat of their rivals. United were stuffed and it could have been even worse for the Tannadice side as the Hoops ran amok and three goals was the very least they deserved.
Kyogo Furuhashi and David Turnbull – who grabbed the second before Liam Scales added a late third – could have helped themselves to hat-tricks, but the manager was not going to scoff at an impressive victory.
Postecoglou said: “We scored the hard ones and missed the easy ones. That’s the lot of a manager, mate!
“Look, I think it’s important for the guys who got them.
“Tommy has been fantastic for us but probably just lacked that bit of ruthlessness in front of goal so it was fantastic for him to get his goal.
“Davie has been brilliant for us and he’s a player who wants to improve every day.
“I know how much he enjoys scoring and getting assists, so it was good to see him get his goal.
“And it was a good move for the Scales goal. Any player starting their Celtic career, they want a good start. The dream is to score a goal and he did that.”
Celtic are unbeaten in 11 domestic games – 10 of them since United held them to a draw at Parkhead back in September – and are building up a head of steam in the Premiership.
Postecoglou refused to freak out when it was tough early on and he’s not going to go overboard now his side are flying.
But there was a quiet satisfaction at the way his side dealt with Dundee United after a tough test already against the Taysiders this season. Postecoglou said: “It was a good, solid performance.
“We started the game well and played it on our terms.
“It’s not an easy place to come and play. They’re hard to break down and don’t concede a lot of goals, so we had to be right on it.
“From the first minute to the last, we had good energy, good tempo, scored some good goals and missed many more.
“To make three changes, the lads did well to stay focused on our football.
“My measure is we always want to be a better version of ourselves every time we play and I think we have been.
“I know people tend to focus on results and, to be fair, they’ve been pretty good for quite a while.
“Our football has been consistent throughout that. We’re solid defensively and we create a good framework to play, while going forward we’re as exciting as we were earlier in the year.
“Maybe we’re just lacking a bit of ruthlessness in front of goal in the last couple of weeks, so we haven’t been rewarded for our football.”
Postecoglou raved about Rogic and his strikers but it’s his skipper who got top marks from the gaffer.
Callum McGregor brilliantly teed up Turnbull for the second and set the tone at Tannadice.
The boss said: “He was brilliant. We spoke in the last few weeks about varying our attacks because we’d become a bit predictable for a little patch there.
“That’s why he’s the skipper. He’s the one who takes the initiative to do the things I talk about.
“When you see leaders lead by actions, the others follow. He takes the information we give him and is the first one to execute.”