‘If you’re veggie, you don’t drop into Mcdonalds...’
EUROPA LEAGUE GROUP G
Celtic have become easy meat for capable sides in continental competition across the past year-and-a-half.
And chewed over in the aftermath of their two Europa League group defeats under Ange Postecoglou, which make winning at home to Ferencvaros a necessity for competitive sustenance, has been the unwillingness of the Australian even to consider snacking on a solitary tactical switch.
Most appreciate, and respect, the commitment to fielding an attack-hungry side – at all times and in all circumstances – is his set menu. There is, though, a feeling it shouldn’t be indigestible to Postecoglou to nibble at his midfield, and play another holding midfielder alongside Callum Mcgregor. Such a move would require either Tom Rogic or David Turnbull to give way. But even such a tiny morsel of a concession, following eight goals lost already in Group G, appears impossible for the Celtic manager to swallow.
“My view on that is: if you are a strict vegetarian, you don’t drop into Macca's [Mcdonald’s] just because you are hungry mate, you know?” he said. “This is what I believe in. I don't believe in it because I am trying to prove something, I just believe it is truly the way to create a special team. It's not easy, sure, and there are pitfalls along the way, and you have to get the balance right. But I've had so much success doing it this way, I'm a believer in it, and it's how I think we will become a special team and have success. You have to be prepared for the fact - and I certainly am, and have had it throughout my whole career that people are going to question it if the success isn't there. I understand that and I love the debate around it, but it's not going to change me mate. This is what I believe in. I don't waver in it. I believe it because I believe it will get us to where we want to get to. And by the way, I'm nowhere near being a vegetarian either...that was just an analogy on my part.”
Postecoglou is taken by a suggestion made to him that the high risk and high reward strategy he pursues could be considered high tariff. “I like the high tariff, I haven’t heard that one before, that’s pretty accurate,” he said. “But that’s what I think will bring us success, and that’s the approach. Mate, I did it at a World Cup [as Australia manager] facing up to [Arjen] Robben, [Robin] Van Persie, [Andres] Iniesta, [David] Villa. I took that approach, we paid a price – or a high tariff – then as well, but I still think it’s the way forward, mate.”
Yet, Postecoglou makes plain his planning is in no way about putting the blinkers on, and concerning himself with only what his players do as opposed to figuring out how to nullify opponents. “From our perspective, don't be mistaken that I disregard the opposition or what they bring to the table when setting up the team,” he said. “We do a lot of analysis, we understand where their strengths lie and we have to make sure we are vigilant in minimising whatever strengths they have. But at the same time, we have to back ourselves.”
Mcgregor himself sees no reason why going solo as a defensive midfielder should leave gaps in the Celtic side.
For the past three years, the 28-yearold was one of two number sixes, as the roles are known in football parlance. Most of the time he rode sidesaddle to Scott Brown in this central channel, with Ismali Soro alongside him for a spell there last season.
Now, he is a man alone with two central attacking midfielders, in the form of Rogic and Turnbull, supporting the forward line as advanced number eights, as these playmakers tend to be labelled.
The switch as leaving Celtic too open in cross-border encounters, but Mcgregor maintains it should not leave gaps for Celtic to be countered on.
“The manager wants to dominate the ball and create overloads centrally, with full-backs coming in,” he said. “So a lot of the time when you’re trying to build up you’ve got two central [players] as well.
"That allows the two number eights to play a bit higher like two number 10s which then gives their midfield players a problem. So it’s designed to give you control in the middle third. You have that extra number, but are still pinning back them with your extra 10 as such. That’s the way he wants to play and in terms of keeping the ball and actually progressing it through the pitch you need technically good players in there to do that. I think the ones we’ve got in there are capable of doing that.”
Mcgregor believes Celtic remain capable of progressing from Group G, despite losing 4-0 at home to Bayer Leverkusen a fortnight ago, on the back of their opening game 4-3 reverse at Real Betis.
Only all six six points from their
double-header this month against the Budapest side can keep them in contention, but the Celtic fulcrum doesn’t seem daunted by that necessity. Even as the one player who knows first hand the threat that can be posed by Ferencvaros at Parkhead, the midfielder likely to be the sole survivor of the Champions League qualifying exit at their hands in August 2020.
“You just never know in football,” he said. “Obviously we’ve had a tough start in terms of the group. We know where we are now. But anything can happen in football. That’s what we have to do – look after ourselves in terms of performances and results. We’ll try to get a positive result and then we’ll just see what happens. We have to maintain the belief that we can still qualify out of the group. There are still four games to go so who’s to say we can’t do it. We’re just taking the game in isolation. It’s almost a new team for us, obviously a new manager, so they won’t have that experience from last year.
“We’re trying to keep a clear head and look at the game objectively. We know what needs to be done.”