Postecoglou insists Qatar finals will improve his internationalists
ANGE Postecoglou has dismissed concerns that having four players involved in the Qatar 2022 finals could have a detrimental impact on Celtic’s bid to retain the Scottish title this season.
The Parkhead manager yesterday expressed his happiness at his centre- half and vice captain Cameron Carter- Vickers being named in the United States squad for the World Cup.
The defender will travel to the Middle East with Daizen Maeda of Japan, Aaron Mooy of Australia and Croatia’s Josip Juranovic after the cinch Premiership match against Ross County at Parkhead.
Celtic will have a hectic schedule of Premiership, League Cup and Scottish Cup games to play when club football resumes next month. But former Australia manager Postecoglou feels that being involved in Qatar will improve Carter- Vickers, Maeda, Mooy and Juranovic as footballers and is confident his side will reap the rewards.
“I’m delighted for Cameron,” he said. “It’s brilliant for him and it’s brilliant for our club.
“When we brought him in last year he had been playing Championship football and had won a couple of caps for his national team. I think he saw coming to Celtic as an opportunity for him to take his football to another level and he has done that.
“He has been brilliant for us. He embraced the club from the minute that he arrived and has now taken on the captaincy. This call- up is a credit to him.
“We had the option to take up the loan on him in the summer. There was never any doubt in our mind as a football club about wanting to do that and he was never in any doubt about where he wanted to be.
“It will be a once of a lifetime experience for him. He will learn so much from it both as a player and as a person and I think it will benefit us when he returns.
“I was disappointed when Kyogo and Reo failed to make the Japan squad and also Matt O’Riley and Jota, who were on the periphery of their national squads. If Scotland had qualified we would have welcomed that with open arms.”
Postecoglou spent over £ 17.5m bringing in 11 new players this summer and believes he has the strength in depth which he needs to win the Premiership again and challenge for the
League Cup and Scottish Cup.
“This will be our 13th game in 42 days, and that includes Champions League and all the travel that goes with that, and the boys have done well,” he said. “Their form in the league has been a credit to them. We have had a challenging start to the season. Our performances for the most part have been strong. If the players can handle that they can negotiate anything.
“The schedule when we resume will not be anywhere near as busy as it has been. The break for the World Cup is something new, but we knew about it and we have planned for it from pre- season.”
Postecoglou is keen for Celtic to beat Ross County at Parkhead today and go into the World Cup break on a high and has no intention of resting his World Cup stars.
“I think if you try to manufacis
ture something it never works,” he said. “I could not play a player for 10 days and he could pick up an injury when he returns to the side. I think the guys would probably prefer to be involved and go into the World Cup in good form and with a lot of football behind them.
“It is important that we finish with a win and go into the World Cup break on a positive note. We have come through a hectic period. We want to make sure our form in terms of performances and results continues.
“Their last few results have been very positive for them. But we know that it will always be a very difficult game when you play Ross County anyway. We will make sure that our level of performance is at the right level. We will be aggressive and maintain our intensity and tempo. If we do that we will be alright.”