Postecoglou hopes side will heed the harsh lesson from Bodo
Wary of new Dundee manager and looking to bounce back
CELTIC have enjoyed their fair share of plaudits over the past few months, chiefly on the back of the free-flowing, attacking football that Ange Postecoglou has been wringing out of his men as they charged a path to the top of the table.
Their long unbeaten run of 18 fixtures in all competitions came to an abrupt end on Thursday night as Bodo/ Glimt brought the high-flying Celts back to earth with a bump, dishing out their first defeat since they lost to Bayer Leverkusen in late November.
On the night, the style of play – commonly known as “Angeball” – that has been their hallmark failed to click, and without it, there was little left to fall back on. That is why Celtic manager Postecoglou is keen to remind his men that it will take grit and guts as well as guile if they are going to have a successful end to the season.
That starts today against Dundee, with Postecoglou warning against complacency given the way his men have swept the Dee aside this term, winning 6-0 at Celtic Park and 4-2 at Dens.
“There is a danger of thinking that way,” Postecoglou said.
“They have just had a change of manager and usually when that happens there is a reaction from the playing group. I expect it to be tough, it may not be as open as the game we had against them here last time.
“We just need to make sure we understand we got here not just from being free flowing all the time, we had to have grit and grind our way through games. Those kind of qualities need to be there as well as the football we play.”
To that end, Postecoglou hopes that his players heed the harsh lessons that were dished out to them by the Norwegian champions during the week for the return leg on Thursday in the Arctic Circle.
“Always,” he said. “Listen, there are lessons in everything you do. You sometimes find out about yourselves as well.
“As I said, we want to be a certain kind of team, but at that same time that ability to be clinical in vital areas, in both boxes, sometimes gives you the outcome of games.
“Our general play was alright [against Glimt] but I just thought we were not as clinical as we have been and not as ruthless as we have been and we paid the price for that.
“It will be a challenge for us but that is what it is all about. We have had plenty this year and we have got to make sure the disappointment tonight fuels a reaction on Sunday.
“It will be a tough game but we want to continue our good form in the league and Sunday is a good opportunity to do that.”
We just need to make sure we understand we got here not just from being free flowing all the time. We had to have grit
As much as Postecoglou wants his men to learn from that chastening experience, he is also wary of throwing the baby out with the bath water over one disappointing performance.
“I don’t feel like we need to refocus,” he said. “In football these things happen, you can be flying but [the Glimt] game shows you even when things are going really well sometimes the opposition, in the circumstances of the game, will hurt you.
“It is about how you react to that more than anything else.”
What gives Postecoglou added hope for the return leg against Glimt is the way his men have gone to arguably tougher venues this season and scored goals, hitting three in each of their Europa League group games away from Celtic Park against Real Betis, Bayer Leverkusen and Ferencvaros respectively.
That, and the decision by UEFA to scrap the away goals rule this season.
“I think it keeps the tie open for both clubs and I think that is what the intent was, so from our perspective we know we still have to go there and score three goals but we have done that before,” he said.
“I think those results show we can score goals away from home. Obviously we have to score at least a couple to turn the tie around, we have done that and there is an opportunity to do it again.
“It is a hell of a challenge but the whole season has been a hell of a challenge, so why not continue down that road?”
As for the immediate challenge posed by Dundee today, Postecoglou expects it to be stiffened by the surprise arrival of Mark McGhee as manager after the dismissal of James McPake during the week.
“I haven’t come across Mark,” he said. “I obviously know him, he has had a long managerial career and he is very, very experienced.
“As I say, sometimes the change of coach brings a reaction from teams so we are going to be ready for that on Sunday.
“It is that sort of time where clubs are assessing their positions. There are a few fighting relegation and others fighting to get into the top six so you kind of know at this time of the year clubs make decisions about how the rest of their season is going to look.
“It is part of management, we are all under that sort of scrutiny and know if the results aren’t coming people are going to question our position. It is not unique to here.
“They have actually had a couple of good results in their last couple of games anyway. We are going to be up for it.”