Postecoglou wants to turn pain to gain
LOSING his first match as Celtic manager against Rangers back in August wasn’t exactly the greatest experience of Ange Postecoglou’s lengthy coaching career.
His side performed well at Ibrox and could have drawn, possibly even won, if they had converted one or more of the scoring chances they created during the course of the 90 minutes.
Being beaten because they switched off briefly at a second-half corner and conceded a Filip Helander goal was difficult to bear. Yet, the Greek-Australian coach didn’t try to put the painful loss out of his mind after he left Govan that day and he believes his players were exactly the same.
“The important thing is it hurts you and what you do with that hurt,” he said. “You can’t dismiss those results because if you do and put them away somewhere then you don’t learn from them.”
Many new players have arrived since the 1-0 reverse; Cameron Carter-Vickers, Reo Hatate, Jota, Matt O’Riley and Giorgios Giakoumakis were not involved five months ago and will make a huge difference this week.
Postecoglou is certainly confident his charges now know they can’t be so wasteful in the final third again in the cinch Premiership fixture at Parkhead on Wednesday night if they want to prevail.
“There were things we could have handled better last time,” he said. “We had some good opportunities, didn’t take them and got punished for that. There’s a good lesson in there.
“That’s what you’re looking for. It would be very easy to say you have played well and it doesn’t hurt that much, but I don’t think you learn anything.
“We had a rough start to the year, no doubt, but what was important for me was what our response was and we rolled our sleeves up to go again and be more resilient as a team and I think we have done that. In the last three to three-anda-half months we’ve been as consistent as anyone.”
As somebody who has come to Scotland from another continent never mind country, the intense and age-old rivalry between Celtic and Rangers has taken a bit getting used to for Postecoglou.
However, the former Australia manager revealed the encounters he has had with fans of the Ibrox club have been overwhelmingly positive and stressed he loves the fervour surrounding the world-famous fixture.
“I don’t get exposed to it too much,” he said. “But the interactions I have had with supporters of other clubs? It’s all been fairly friendly and plenty of banter.
“You’re always wary when the teenage boys are coming up to you because they are the ones that tend to be the bravest, but so far it’s been good-natured. I understand they are passionate about their football club and that’s what I expect them to be.”
Postecoglou made front page news when he was pictured speaking to his opposite number Giovanni van Bronckhorst in a Glasgow restaurant last month; he will face the Dutchman in the dugout for the first time on Wednesday night and admits he is an admirer.
“It’s just human nature,” he said. “I am not going to dislike somebody because people want you to dislike them. I’ll make my own assessments about people.
“One thing I do absolutely understand and respect is every other manager because I know how difficult a job it is. I’ve bumped into Gio a couple of times and he’s a nice guy. He’s very passionate about what he wants to do as a manager and wants success for his football club. He knows I am the same, but that doesn’t mean we somehow change who we are.
“On a game day we both want our teams to win, but if I bump into him afterwards, like every other manager, I’ll treat him with respect because that’s far more important than anything else.
“We are in privileged positions and we are there to set an example sometimes and people will look at our behaviour and I want to make sure in my dealings that I represent this football club more than anything else in the right manner and this football club will always be respectful of everybody.”
The first midweek meeting between Celtic and Rangers in 11 years will be of massive importance in the title race – but Postecoglou expects the battle for the Premiership to go right down to the wire regardless the outcome.
“Things can fluctuate and change very quickly,” he said. “It’s pretty even between us and Rangers.
“There’s a consistency of results there so my gut tells me it will be a tight title race, but let’s see how it develops.”
We had some good opportunities, didn’t take them and got punished. There’s a good lesson in there