Postecoglou uses FA Cup shocks as Warning

Preparation and professionalism crucial to reaching final

ANGE POSTECOGLOU does not quite subscribe to the notion famously held by Walter Smith that a fear of losing as manager of Celtic or Rangers is a bigger driver than winning, but he does believe that a little reminder of what could go wrong at Hampden tonight may be no bad thing for his players.

“I certainly get that and there are elements of that in it, but it’s not really the way I am,” Postecoglou said.

“I’ve always been more focused on the way the team plays and approaches it. We look to win every game of football we play and that’s where our motivation lies, whether that’s in the league or in cup competitions.

“There’s a game here to be won and we want to win every game that we play. That’s the responsibility I have here.”

It must be said that anything other than a comfortable win for Celtic this evening over a Kilmarnock side they brushed aside just a week ago on Premiership duty would be a major surprise. But as Postecoglou notes, it was underlined in the FA Cup last weekend that in cup competitions, surprises often do happen.

The curse of the heavy favourite of course is that if they do win, they have simply done what is expected of them, while if they lose it is put down as a seismic failure on their part.

“In cup competitions you just have to look down south last week when plenty of so- called favourites got knocked off, so that’s the nature of it and that’s why we like it,” he said.

“Every club is aware of it, whether you are the favourite or the underdog, you use that as motivation. Anything can happen on the day.

“Our role in that is just to be prepared to be at our best and if we are at our best, we know we are hard to stop, and that’s where our preparation lies.”

Postecoglou’s influence on Celtic since his arrival in the summer of 2021 is obvious, but it also seems he has had an impact in a broader sense across the Scottish game, particularly when it comes to the transfer market.

Given the success he has had in plundering the J- League for talent, it is perhaps unsurprising that other clubs have started to seriously look at the Japanese market, with Hearts bringing in forward Yutaro Oda this week and Motherwell closing in on a deal for Riku Danzaki.

While he is reticent to accept credit for bringing that market to the attention of other clubs, Postecoglou can fully understand why more Scottish teams are now looking to plunder it.

“I don’t know if I’ve done that,” he said.

“There have been other Japanese players who have come to Scotland in the past, but I definitely think it’s a part of the world that for our league there is some real value there.

“You can get some quality players who are very ambitious and suit our league.

“It depends on the clubs’ approach. When you bring in players from the other side of the world it does require support off the field, but it terms of player quality and value, I think they add to our league and it’s great to see.

“I think more clubs will do that. I don’t think necessarily on the back of what I’ve done here but if a club of our size and resources is looking at that market, it makes sense that other clubs might do something similar.

“It’s a different way to get quality players in at value, rather than going into traditional areas where you have to compete with clubs with much bigger resources than ours.”

As Postecoglou stresses though, the success of all the players he has brought to the club from around the globe – not only from Japan – has hinged upon the work Celtic have put in off the field to make them all feel at home.

“We have tried to create an environment that is very welcoming but also supportive,” he said.

“We understand that whether it’s the Japanese boys or someone like Liel Abada, who has come from Israel, we need to provide support on and off the field and that’s what the club has done really, really well, so that the boys feel comfortable.

“I know it’s a unique situation

There’s a game here to be won and we want to win every game that we play

[ having six Japanese players] but look at any Portuguese side this week and they’ll have half a dozen Brazilians.

“It’s just that we’ve done it in a market where it’s not usual to be done.

“I’ve always looked at them as all different people with different characteristics and our job is to provide support, but we have a fantastic dressing room and that’s a credit to the players. It doesn’t matter where a person comes from, they fit in really well.”

Celtic will still be without Greg Taylor for tonight’s game, with Postecoglou saying he is probably another week away from returning to action, while he expects fellow absentees Sead Haksabanovic, Stephen Welsh and James McCarthy to be available for the game against St Mirren in midweek.