Postecoglou refuses to pull the punches as manager maintains high standard on tour
Loss in homeland rankles with Celtic coach as he’s left to count the costs after defender suffers head gash
SUCH is the competition for a starting place at Celtic, manager Ange Postecoglou has long stated, that every player in his squad has to be ready to seize their opportunity whenever and however it comes.
So, even if that is in a midseason friendly played before 9am UK time, barely 48 hours after you have made a day- long journey to the other side of the world, then you have to show why you should be further up the teamsheet than you have become accustomed to.
For the likes of Oliver Abildgaard and Yosuke Ideguchi, the ring- rusty midfielders who started in midfield against Sydney FC yesterday, being pitched in together probably didn’t help either. But the fact neither reappeared after the interval suggested that neither man really managed to grasp their chance.
In saying that, Postecoglou was hardly enamoured by the showings of any of Celtic’s players on the day, so when asked about those two in particular he couched his criticism in broader terms.
“They are like everyone else and there is no hierarchy and they are not separated,” Postecoglou said. “They train together every day. They are all at the starting point on the starting line and where they finish is up to them, whether they have had an opportunity or not. Whether they play
10 in a row or one in a row, there is an expectation on their performance and if you don’t meet those expectations then you go back and work again and wait for your next opportunity.
“I don’t think anyone can say tonight that they put their best foot forward, whether they have been playing or not. For everyone, it is not a night where you played anywhere near the level that you needed to.
“We have standards and we have been really good at maintaining those. You can take these and put them to one side, but I think everything has meaning and there is meaning to everything you do.
“It’s a game of football, mate. Irrespective of who you are playing against, [ when] one team is not at the level they need to be and the other team is then I am not surprised [ by the defeat]. We got on top in the second half but the game goes for 90 minutes.”
The defeat came at something of a cost, too. Stephen Welsh, who suffered a significant cut following a clash of heads, with Postecoglou awaiting news on a possible concussion. “I don’t know, mate,” he said. “He is getting his head stitched up and that was our main concern.”
Mortiz Jenz, though, may be ready to step into the defence in his place in any case after coming off against Ross County last weekend with his own head knock. The absence of Joe Hart and Giorgos Giakoumakis from the Sydney defeat was also precautionary.
“We are going through the concussion protocols with [ Moritz] now and he is passing all the tests” Postecoglou added. “We will see if he is available for Sunday, and all being well, he will be.
“Joe Hart was as a bit sore after the last game and Giako had an infected toe so he missed training yesterday. They might be in for Sunday.”
The faint scintilla of positivity for Celtic and Postecoglou from the match against Sydney then was the performances of younger fringe players like Rocco Vata, Scott Robertson and Bosun Lawal, who all looked comfortable after coming on in the second half of the game.
Though, the Celtic manager was hardly going overboard with his praise, in fairness.
“It was good for [ Rocco] to come on and Bosun Lawal too, and it is good for them to get that senior experience, and bring them into the environment and learn from it,” he said. “[ Scott] was okay. There is nobody in there who will be thinking ‘ I played well tonight’, whether they started or not.”
On a personal note, there was a nice moment before kickoff for Postecoglou as he was presented with the certificate to formally mark his entry into the Football Australia Hall of Fame. “It is recognition of my journey in football,” he said.
“And not just mine but for the people who set me off on my journey, like my parents, my family, my kids and my friends and those who have been along for the whole journey, and it is recognition for all their support of me.
“I have been fortunate to have been a part of that for the past 35 years in Australian football. Hopefully the best is yet to come.”
After the Sydney match, certainly, the only way is up.
They are like everyone else and there is no hierarchy and they are not separated. They train together