PROVING GROUND
Postecoglou hails Juranovic but warns all his Celtic stars they can’t allow standards to drop
YOU can’t hold back talent. And you’ll never prevent the very best of it from being coveted by those with the financial wherewithal to make it theirs.
But Ange Postecoglou’s appreciation of the way the football world works also extends to how quickly it can fluctuate.
The Celtic manager isn’t oblivious to the speculation surrounding Josip Juranovic and Atletico Madrid. A £2.5million snip from Legia Warsaw last summer, the Croatian clearly has the ability to compete at the upper end of one of Europe’s top leagues.
For that to happen at some point in the future, though, the Australian maintains that standards cannot be compromised. Only by living in the here and now will the full-back eventually realise his true potential.
‘He is part of the furniture here,’ said the Celtic manager.
‘He is training well. As I said, everyone’s future is uncertain.
‘The key to it all is that whatever happens in the future is really determined by what happens today.
‘With Josip and the other boys who had fantastic seasons last year, the key now is to improve this year and, if they improve this year, all those things take care of themselves.’
While Postecoglou evidently believes that the likes of Juranovic could effectively play themselves towards a huge move, you wouldn’t put much money on the fringe players in his squad changing his mind on them on account of their displays.
While there is clearly nothing personal behind the way the likes of Christopher Jullien and Albian Ajeti have been marginalised, it’s pretty plain that the manager sees their futures lying elsewhere.
The pair both featured in the seven-goal hiding of Wiener Viktoria on Wednesday — with the Frenchman scoring — but Postecoglou was diplomatic when asked if they could yet work their way into his plans.
‘Everyone’s future is the same,’ he added. ‘Everyone’s future is unknown. None of us have any certainty about what we do.
‘With Christopher and the other lads, they are training with us and while they are with us I treat them as one of our players, and if that changes in the future it changes.
‘In terms of what we are trying to do and planning for, we are still looking to bring in two or three players.
‘There are still a couple of areas where we need to strengthen. We’ll do that.
‘I don’t speak on behalf of Chris. I don’t think he’d want me to.
‘The mood between me and him is the same as between me and Callum (McGregor, captain), there is no difference. He is a player at Celtic, I’m the manager and that doesn’t change with all the players.
‘We had a similar situation last year with Ryan Christie, Odsonne Edouard, Kristoffer Ajer and I think if you speak to them, I didn’t treat them any differently to anyone else.
‘Sometimes, with the players, they have got to make their own decisions about their futures as well. They know what they want to do and where they’ll get their best opportunities. ‘They are not discussions I have with the players unless they come and seek them with me.’ Although Vinicius Souza appears set to snub Celtic’s advances and join Espanyol, Postecoglou feels the squad is in a good place at this moment. Both Benjamin Siegrist and Alexandro Bernabei featured on Wednesday, with the two new faces to date adding a freshness the manager craved. Ahead of today’s game with Rapid Vienna, Postecoglou feels the difference in approach from last summer to this one is like night and day. ‘We kind of strengthened during the year last season,’ said Postecoglou. ‘This year we’re a lot more settled which gives us a chance to work on our game and improve on it, and give the players a better understanding of that. We did a lot of that stuff on the run last year.
‘The challenge is to improve irrespective of what happened last year. If we didn’t win the title, we’d be looking to improve and try to win it.
‘We won it last year and what we need to do is improve again. If we do improve, then that gives us a chance to be successful. That’s what I’ve said to the players from day one this year.
‘This is not about repeating last year’s success. It’s about being a better version of ourselves next season on all fronts — individually, collectively.
‘If we improve on last year, what it does give us is a platform and an opportunity to be successful.
‘It’s across the board. That’s what we are trying to imbed in pre-season. At the same time, I don’t think there’s a manager who’s ever said that they’ve had a bad pre-season or that the signings aren’t good, so we are all kind of spouting the same stuff.
‘It’s only when the season starts that you understand where you are at. The lesson for us is that last year we didn’t have a great pre-season and we were very unsettled.
‘It didn’t stop us being successful. The key to that is you’ve got to seek improvement whatever your starting point is.’
To that end, the manager feels that having the familiar faces of Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers in Austria is invaluable.
The subject of intense speculation after excellent seasons on loan from Benfica and Tottenham, respectively, Postecoglou believes that signing the pair on permanent deals is a major coup.
‘I’m really pleased,’ he said. ‘For us, it’s not just about retaining them because they had good seasons last year.
‘If they were available this year, I would sign them anyway. They are just players who I know will improve and have their best years ahead of them.
‘The added bonus is that we already know what they are like as people. They fit in really well with the culture of the group. They are exciting and have their best years ahead of them.’