Postecoglou promises energy and intensity on trip to Ibrox
Ange Postecoglou has hinted Celtic will apply the same gameplan at Ibrox as they did when beating Rangers 3-0 in January – despite ‘big consequences’ at stake in next weekend’s Old Firm derby.
With only three points separating the Glasgow duo at the top of the Premiership, the title race reaches a crucial juncture on April 3 at Ibrox.
That is not lost on the Celtic manager ahead of ‘a great occasion’, but with such high stakes, Postecoglou still will not opt for caution and has suggested a repeat of the high-intensity and aggressive approach that worked to his side’s advantage in the last meeting could be his way forward.
“We definitely want to bring the same sort of energy and intensity, we try to do that home and away,” he said.
“The key to the position we are in at the moment this year is because away from home, we are still taking the game to the opposition and being aggressive with our approach,
which I think has helped us win a lot of games away from home. So, that won’t change, but you just don’t know what the opposition will bring.”
That Parkhead encounter – delayed by a month from the traditional New Year fixture – was a turnaround from the first meeting at Ibrox, decided by Filip Helander’s second-half header, and with the scores level at one Old Firm win apiece this season and the league so finely poised, Postecoglou is relishing a return.
A win would extend his team’s advantage to six points with just five games remaining – including another clash at Celtic Park – but defeat would bring Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s champions level on points. Postecoglou told Celtic
TV: “In the first game there, we didn’t get the result we wanted, but I thought our performance wasn’t too bad.
“It was a pretty tight game, there wasn’t a lot of chances for either side. They took theirs, we had a couple we didn’t take.
“There’s no doubt it’s going to be a great occasion.
“You want to go into these games firstly on good form, which we are, and knowing there’s big consequences to the outcome.
“It’s a great position to be in and I know the players will be looking forward to it.”