Starfelt was unfairly judged and has come back in style
Ange proclaims progress of Swede as he makes a case for the defence
LEAGUE tables may never lie but they can offer up the odd contradiction. Depending on which set of standings you choose to view, Celtic possess simultaneously the best defence in Scotland and the leakiest back line in Europe.
Currently second in the cinch Premiership table, Ange Postecoglou’s side are the most miserly in the land, having let in just ten goals in 15 league matches.
Switch to the Europa League and the picture alters dramatically. After just five fixtures, they have conceded 13, more than any of the other 31 teams active in the competition.
It’s merely stating the obvious — as ex-Celt John Collins once did to lashings of unfair ridicule — that when the Parkhead club steps into the continental arena, the skill and speed of the opposition is on a higher level than that present in the Scottish top flight.
Postecoglou acknowledges that truth but also takes responsibility for imposing an expansive, risky game plan that has exposed his defenders at a time when they are still getting to know each other.
Bayer Leverkusen and Real Betis, who visit Glasgow this Thursday at the conclusion of the
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group stage, have taken advantage in a way that Dundee United are unlikely to at Tannadice this afternoon.
Yet it’s still incumbent on his players to defend proactively and choke the opposition’s attacks at source — something they did to great effect against Hearts on Thursday night.
Injuries continue to play havoc with the Australian’s search for a settled back four but even with Tony Ralston and Stephen Welsh set to miss today’s game after being force off in midweek, he should be able to restore Cameron Carter-Vickers alongside Carl Starfelt in the middle of the back four.
‘I don’t know if our defensive work goes under the radar but I think people tend to look at certain games,’ says Postecoglou. ‘The occasions where we have conceded numbers of goals have been against decent opposition in Europe.
‘People measure it against that but overall we have been pretty steady defensively.
‘The thing that pleased me most about the Hearts game was the resilience the guys showed.
‘If you look at our back four at the end of the game, not one of them started the previous game in those same positions.
‘Adam Montgomery, Starfelt and Nir (Bitton) didn’t even play in the previous game, while Josip (Juranovic) was at right-back instead of left. So we had to show real resilience and a mindset to keep the opposition out.
‘That’s the pleasing thing, we are reacting to these challenges really positively. We are not making excuses. We’re getting on with it.’
Postecoglou reserves special praise for Starfelt. Signed for a hefty fee (around the £4million mark) from Rubin Kazan after a protracted summer chase, the Swede was thrown in for a debut at Tynecastle on the opening day of the season and found himself on the wrong end of a defeat.
Subsequently asked to perform alongside a variety of defensive colleagues and a new incoming goalkeeper in Joe Hart, the 26-year-old had to adapt to a new system and a wholly different environment as he bedded in.
Before a recent injury he had settled down into some form and, after a month out, returned to produce probably his best performance for the club against Hearts on Thursday.
Quick over the ground and incisive in the tackle, Starfelt displayed the sort of swift, aggressive defending that Postecoglou demands.
‘What is most important is not how they come in, it’s about how they progress,’ he says of Starfelt. ‘We play differently from a lot of other teams and we put different expectations on our players.
‘Carl had it as tough as anyone. We threw him in without a pre-season, virtually without a training session and asked him to play alongside guys he had never met before. I think he was unfairly judged in many respects.
‘Since then, he has become accustomed to what we do and was playing well, even before the injury. He and Cam have a really good relationship at the back and we were really pleased to get him back in on Thursday.
‘I was concerned at how he would go for 90 minutes but he finished the game strongly and I thought he was outstanding.’
Juranovic, another of the manager’s new signings, has barely played in his natural position since signing from Legia Warsaw in August.
An injury to Greg Taylor, allied to the form of Ralston, has seen the Croatian internationalist deployed at left-back but he is likely to start on the right today.
Asked if he’d be pleased to give Juranovic a run in his favoured role, Postecoglou countered: ‘Not really, because Tony has been outstanding in that position. I would rather have both available.
‘That’s why we need a strong squad. The full-back positions were a real problem for us and we now have two players who are excelling every week. That’s what we need in every position.
‘It’s about selecting a team to win every game and people’s positions may vary depending on what we need.
‘Josip has shown he can play left-back and play very well there. It’s a great option for us to have.’
With Montgomery set to slot in on the left, Celtic’s defence should pick itself for today’s game but Postecoglou is mindful of the load he’s placing on his players amid a packed fixture schedule.
Winger Jota joined Ralston and Welsh in limping out of Thursday’s game and initially indicated that he did not feel the injury was too serious. Postecoglou will reserve judgment until he gets the results of a scan.
‘Sometimes the players aren’t the best judge of these things,’ he says. ‘We’ll see what the scan says. Both he and Welshy are hamstrings, Anthony was an ankle.
‘We’re playing so many games that some wear and tear is inevitable. Couple that with how we play our football and it’s always a fine line between pushing the guys to the maximum and trying to ensure we don’t overload them.
‘With so many games and our squad limited in certain areas, some of the guys are having to back up. It’s the risk you run when you try to do things the way we do.
‘In Japan, particularly during the Covid year, we (also) had an extreme situation and it does take its toll on the players.
‘We are trying to get the squad robust enough to handle that. We are in three competitions in this period, a cup final and playing in Europe. It’s a further burden but one we’d rather have than not.’
‘HE HAD IT TOUGH IN THE BEGINNING IN A NEW TEAM AND WITHOUT A PRE-SEASON BUT CARL WAS OUTSTANDING AGAINST HEARTS’