Celtic are in a strong place, claims Ange
ANGE POSTECOGLOU declared Celtic stronger than at any point this season after moving six points clear at the top of the Premiership table.
A Giorgos Giakoumakis hat-trick lit up a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Ross County at Parkhead yesterday and threw down a challenge to title rivals Rangers ahead of their visit to Dundee today.
Insistent that he is immersed only in his own team’s business, Postecoglou joked that he will only tune in to today’s lunchtime kick-off at Dens Park if he can take charge of the family’s remote control.
The Glasgow giants will contest a top-ofthe-table clash in a fortnight’s time and with a dozen players now off on international duty, Postecoglou hopes to be close to full strength at Ibrox.
‘It’s still two weeks away but at the moment our squad is in the best place it’s been all year,’ he said. ‘If we can get through this international break and keep everyone fit, then I think we will be in good shape. After the break it’s not just
about one game. It’s a series of games and we need to be ready for every one of them.’
Asked if he’d tune in to Rangers’ game today, he quipped: ‘My Sundays are dictated by my wife and kids. If Sing 2 is on, I’ll have to fight for the remote control.
‘I get why people are focusing on that (Old Firm game) but I don’t worry about things I can’t control. What we can control is today.
‘We’ve had to be really focused because what if we started looking at other results when we were on six points and in seventh position after a few games?
‘We’ve done our bit this round, so I’ll spend Sunday with my family, we’ll get back in and ready to go again.’
There was one moment of concern for Celtic in yesterday’s match when midfielder Tom Rogic hobbled off in the wake of a tackle that saw County’s Kayne Ramsay red-carded.
Rogic is due to report for duty with Australia and former Socceroos boss Postecoglou offered an encouraging initial prognosis.
He said: ‘His ankle’s a bit swollen, but I saw him briefly at half-time and he’s hopefully not too bad. The referee is closer than I am and he deemed it a red card. What’s important for me is that Tom didn’t get a serious injury.’
The return of David Turnbull as a second-half substitute means that only Kyogo Furuhashi remains on the injured and absent list.
Furuhashi is due to return in time for the Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers, by which time Turnbull should be back up to speed.
‘It was good to get Dave out there and he was pleased to get a run,’ said Postecoglou.
‘Now it is a case of building him up. We will arrange a bounce game in this break and we know when everyone comes back there will be no more breaks until the end of the year. It will be great to have a fit and healthy squad.’
With seven games remaining, County boss Malky Mackay also has much to play for. Despite yesterday’s defeat, the Highlanders are still in the hunt for a top-six berth.
He said: ‘We have two games against Hearts and Aberdeen, so we have a chance and I think we are a point off fourth at the moment — along with another six teams!
‘I was pleased with the resilience of the players today. After going down to ten men it could have been seven or eight but we managed to restrict their chances to create and score.’