ANGE LOVES THAT FINAL FEELING

Celtic boss insists his sides are always geared up for success on the big stage

PLAY the game, not the occasion. A managerial mantra peddled out by some of the very best to help temper hype and achieve maximum focus. Ange Postecoglou wouldn’t wish to trash one of the leadership rules of Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Celtic manager just has a different way of operating on the approach to a cup final or, in the cases of his winning four league titles in Australia, the Grand Final.

Postecoglou explains that every team under his watch as a coach has been specifically built to produce on days like today’s Hampden clash with Hibernian.

So he has felt no reason to sweep Celtic’s great expectations under the carpet in the past week.

He may boast a captain in Callum McGregor with an outrageous, perfect success rate in 13 Youth, Scottish and League Cup finals, a serial winner in James Forrest, Manchester City medal magnet Joe Hart and Treble-clinching Hampden scorer Tom Rogic.

But this is also group with a new dynamic, tactics and personnel unfamiliar with the territory who are on the cusp of achieving something together for the first time.

Yet even with those of limited experience, Postecoglou won’t be sparing them from the reality that, as Celtic players with everything on the line in this national stadium showdown, they must deliver.

The Australian won two league titles as a player and four as a manager, all thanks to peaking on the one-off occasion after excelling throughout the season.

The 56-year-old explained: ‘I have always tried to build teams in a style that will stack up in the big games.

‘It may sound a little bit bizarre but, because that’s how things get decided in Australia, that is how I train my teams.

‘So that when the big game comes along, everything stacks up. The way we prepare and the way we play our football.

‘Coming into this game hasn’t been any different here — the way we train every day, the way we talk, the way we plan ourselves is so we are ready for the big occasions.

‘And it is a big occasion. There’s no point trying to downplay it. I’ve never felt that “it’s just another game” worked for me with my players and staff.

‘They will quickly work out, when they walk out at Hampden, that it’s not just another game.

‘It’s a big game and I don’t want them to fear that. I want them to embrace it.

‘That’s they way I talk to them. Everything’s on the line and we’ve got to be at our best. Don’t shy away from that. That’s how I’ll prepare the team.’

Postecoglou admits he has turned to his experienced, most decorated stars to guide the uninitiated in the squad.

‘Absolutely, you call on that,’ he said. ‘Whether’s it’s Cal, Tommy Rogic, Nir Bitton, James Forrest, there’s Joe Hart who’s been in some pretty big games... you want these guys to help steer the others on what to expect.

‘But they all have to be ready for it because, in big games, there’s no place to hide, there will be no cover or shelter for any individual.

‘Every player will be exposed. Both teams will be exposed. You have to stand up to it and that’s what I want my players to do.

‘If you’re playing for the club, these are the games you want to play and excel in.

‘The one thing I do know about every big game and final I’ve been involved in — and I’ve had success in all but one of them — is that none of them run smoothly.

‘Something happens on the day that will test you, there’s going to

have to be some sort of brilliance by a team or an individual to overcome something unexpected. We have to be ready for that.’

Postecoglou will pin his hopes on one of his players conjuring that moment of game-defining class but concedes that an Australian international is capable of doing just that for the opponent.

Martin Boyle (right), hat-trick hero of Hibernian’s stunning first half against Rangers in the semi-final, was ‘outstanding’ according to the Celtic boss.

‘They really took the game to Rangers and probably surprised them a little bit with their intent and the tempo,’ he noted.

‘Martin was there to get the

Gary Keown: Page 141 rewards and he was outstanding. I obviously know him well, he plays for the Australia national team and he is a threat.

‘But we’ve always tried to deal with these things in a collective sense. If we play our football and are dominant the way we have been, then we limit the opportunities for any player in the opposition to cause us problems.

‘Whether they have pace or strength or whatever it is they bring, it will still come down to us controlling the game. So it’s played on our terms — and that’s what we will try and do.’

Postecoglou expressed sympathy that the man who schemed that success over Rangers and guided Hibs to the final, Jack Ross, won’t be in the opposite dugout at Hampden. Hibs used regressive Premiership form as a reason to pull the plug on his reign, a decision described as ‘harsh’ by matchwinner Boyle. Postecoglou will go against David Gray as Shaun Maloney waits in the wings and cannot recall ever facing a caretaker coach on such a major occasion. ‘I think this might be a first,’ said Postecoglou. ‘I feel for Jack, to be honest. We all think that our role is dependent on results.

‘We all realise that, at

Martin was outstanding against Rangers. I obviously know him well and he is a big threat

some point, if things don’t go well, we potentially could be removed.

‘You feel for him when he’s got a team to a final, but isn’t there. It was so close.

‘So I wish Jack all the best for the future. In terms of our preparation, I don’t think anything changes.

‘Hibs made the change a couple of weeks back and have had a couple of games since. We’ve been able to analyse them.

‘They are still the same team, they’re still a very dangerous side. They have real quality up front and showed that in the semi-final.

‘We will have to make sure we are prepared for it.’