ANGE WON’T COMPROMISE ON HIS VISION
Ange Postecoglou insists Celtic will lay it all on the line against Bayer Leverkusen – as anything less would be a betrayal of his ethos for the club.
The Hoops boss has promised an all-or-nothing approach will be taken at the BayArena for Thursday night’s crucial Europa League clash.
After back-to-back wins over Ferencvaros, hopes remain alive that Postecoglous’s side can progress from Group G.
The gaffer has promised to go toe-to-toe with the Germans in an attacking display that has become his trademark.
He said: “I feel we are in a good place to have a go at them. Can we take the game to them and come away with a result?
“It’s really important that we do that in games like this.
“Otherwise it’s all bravado without any substance.
“The reason we play as we do is because that is the kind of team we want to be.
“We want to be that against everyone. If you shy away when the stakes are highest, and you are up against better quality, then players would lose belief in what I am telling them.
“If we fall short we fall short. We get back up and go again.
“But changing our approach or trying to be more conservative goes against the grain of what I am trying to teach my players.”
That fortune- favours- thebrave message from Postecoglou has been strengthened by an impressive run of results that has built genuine momentum in the last two months.
The Australian is adamant Celtic are a side transformed from the one that went down 4-0 to Leverkusen in Glasgow back in September.
He doesn’t bel ieve that scoreline reflected the quality gap between the teams.
He said: “We are more settled than last time. If I remember correctly, that was Kyogo’s first game back after being out for a month.
“It was Cal McGregor’s first for a while too. So we weren’t very settled, our form was up and down in that period.
“It has a different feel now, we have a better platform and we need that because it’s an enormous challenge.
“I know we lost 4- 0 but anyone at the game would agree there wasn’t that much of a disparity between the two teams.
“People say it must have been a thumping – but the score
doesn’t tell the story of the game. Yes, we conceded four but we could have scored four ourselves and that gives us confidence that, even against the best teams, we can still create good chances and play our football.
“We paid a price on the night for making mistakes that maybe you’d get away with in domestic competitions but against the best you don’t. It was a lesson.
“We got a lot of belief out of that game but also sort of learnings on how to play against quality opposition.
“We made mistakes that cost us at both ends of the field in terms of missing chances and giving up chances.
“So it’s a good part of our development to face a team like that. We have def initely improved since then and our general form has been a lot stronger in all competitions.
“From our perspective, we feel good about where we are at.”
Rea l B e t i s w i l l hos t Ferencvaros at the same time as Cel t i c l ock horns w i th Leverkusen. The Hoops will hope for the Hungarians to do them a favour as they aim to set up a second-place showdown with the Spaniards at Parkhead on December 9.
Postecoglou said: “We can’t worry about what happens in the other game.
“What we do know is that our last two results have given us a chance. It’s still in our hands.
“It’s going to be a challenge. Betis need a result to make sure of their qualification so I’m sure they will be up for it too.
“That’s the opportunity that is before us at Leverkusen. It’s a hell of an incentive to set up a game like that.
“It could be one of those memorable nights at Celtic Park that stays for the ages.
“That’s why we are here, to create those moments. To get that opportunity we need to get the job done on Thursday and that’s our first task.”