POSTECOGLOU TAKES THE BLAME FOR PARKHEAD
the Greek keeper failed to deal with Evander’s strike from an acute angle on 66 minutes. Determined to shoulder the blame for a result that was disappointing but not disastrous, Postecoglou said: ‘I am confident tonight that we’ll go there and put in a good performance. I can’t ask any more of the players. ‘Sometimes, the result belies the facts before you. We will be better prepared, no doubt, in eight days’ time ‘In fact, I don’t think we will ever be as badly prepared as we were tonight and that’s on me, going into such an important game. I feel confident that with the preparation and the spirit we have, we will put in a good performance. It is on me.’ Abada was the only new signing to start last night but Postecoglou didn’t see the lack of fresh faces as a disadvantage. ‘I don’t think I’m at a disadvantage. My role is to try and support these players and try to prepare them the best I can for what is in front of us,’ he stressed. ‘I haven’t done a great job so far, to be honest — because with the disruptions we’ve had, we haven’t been able to bring the players in. My role is to try and reinforce this squad and prepare this squad for what is ahead. To their credit, the players didn’t look for excuses tonight. ‘I’m just disappointed they didn’t get the rewards for what I thought was an outstanding performance.’ Already on a yellow card for an earlier foul, Bitton aggressively remonstrated with Anders Dreyer late in the first half after the former St Mirren player had apparently dived in an attempt to win a penalty. Issued with a second booking and a red by Swiss referee Sandro Scharer, Bitton’s transgression saw goalscorer Abada sacrificed with teenager Dane Murray thrown on for his competitive debut. Although Dreyer would himself be sent packing 11 minutes after the break, Midtjylland squared the game through Evander to take the advantage in the second qualifying round tie. Asked if he was frustrated at Bitton, Postecoglou replied: ‘I was frustrated at the result, as I said, not the performance. But Nir had already been booked and, when you’ve been booked, you have to be careful in your actions. ‘When you infringe again, you give the opportunity to the referee to give you
another caution.’ Barkas looked at fault at the Danes’ equaliser but his manager said: ‘I’m getting a lot of glass half-empty questions at the moment. I think there was plenty of positives rather than people looking for little things that potentially didn’t go right. ‘I thought it was a decent strike. We limited them to a couple of shots on goal with a really brand new back four. ‘I’m the manager of the football club. I’m the one that takes that responsibility of providing support for the players and staff. ‘If things aren’t happening, it’s on me to make them happen.’