Martindale defends stuffy approach

DAVID MARTINDALE watched Celtic force the superstars of Real Madrid on to the defensive and insists there is no shame in cinch Premiership rivals trying to shut up shop against the champions.

The Livingston manager is adamant criticism of Aberdeen counterpart Jim Goodwin has been over the top since the Dons’ defeat to Celtic at the weekend.

The statistics showed that the Pittodrie outfit gave up 81 per cent possession and 33 shots against the Hoops – while enjoying just two efforts at goal themselves.

But, despite Callum McGregor’s 87th- minute winner meaning all their rearguard efforts were in vain, Martindale reckons Goodwin was only a few minutes away from being a “genius”.

And he insists that their Champions League clash with Real Madrid in September is proof that Ange Postecoglou’s side can force even the best in the world on to the back foot, no matter the pre- match game- plan.

Celtic threatened to pull off a shock by bossing first- half possession at Parkhead before losing 3- 0 to second- half goals from Vinicius Junior, Luka Modric and Eden Hazard -

He said: “I think folk need to give Jim a wee bit of a break here. He played a 5- 3- 2, something along those lines, and he played two strikers. So, I think with their dominating performance you’ve got to give Celtic a wee bit more kudos.

“Sometimes you approach the game with certain players and in a certain style and with a certain shape, and they force you into a ‘ low block’.

“For 60 minutes against Real Madrid, I thought Celtic were very, very good and if Callum McGregor’s shot goes in you’re maybe looking at a different game.

“Did Celtic force Real Madrid into a kind of mid- to- low block? I think they did. And they did it to Aberdeen and they’ll do it to countless more teams.

“Probably the disappointing aspect was Jim was at home and the Aberdeen fans maybe saw it as a wee bit negative. But had they managed to get a 0- 0 draw or nick that game 1- 0 at the end, would the narrative have been different?

“I think he would have been a genius. That’s the fine lines in football for me.

“Would the Aberdeen support have taken a point from before the game? I imagine they would have.

“They’d want it in a different style of football, but does it really matter how you pick your points up? Jim could have played a 4- 3- 3 and been beaten 4- 0 so would have been lambasted for that too. So put it in perspective, they were not far away from getting something from the game and, really, I think that’s all you can ask.”