WILY ANGE WILL READ THE ROOM
Enjoying a quiet moment with a book helps Celtic manager plot out his pre-match call to arms
AS kick-off approaches, an odd mixture of superstitions and rituals will be observed in the Celtic dressing room. For some players, that may involve the methodical application of shinpads, socks and boots (not necessarily in that order). Others will require a quick pre-match massage. Some will zone out by inserting some earbuds and listening to their favourite music.
In a quiet corner next door, the manager will be reading a book.
Ange Postecoglou will already have sketched a few rough words of his own around which to deliver a team talk that gets the blood pumping ahead of the Scottish Cup semi-final with Rangers.
But before addressing his players, he prefers to lose himself in someone else’s thoughts.
‘I’ll find a quiet corner and read something to pass the time,’ says the Australian. ‘Just to make sure I am prepared and I gather my thoughts for what’s coming up.
‘Once the game starts, my role is to be as observant as possible, to make sure that if there is anything out there I can help the players with, that I am sharp in my mind with that.
‘The time before the game is used as preparation for that. That’s what I have done since the start of my managerial career and is my own way of preparing for games.’
Postecoglou’s last visit to Hampden saw him deliver a rousing teamtalk to his players in which he urged them to stand on the shoulders of the Celtic legends who had come before them.
The players went out and arrived back with the League Cup. There’s no trophy on offer today but a semifinal win over Rangers will see the team move to within 90 minutes of a Scottish Cup win.
Postecoglou will use a blend of his pre-planned words and the emotions that are stirred in the moments before he sends team out into the tunnel area ahead of the big game.
‘Whenever I speak to the players, it’s important that whatever information I give is relevant to the moment,’ he explains. ‘It’s also important that I understand the mood and what the players may or may not require.
‘I don’t speak to the players a lot but when I do I try and make sure they get my message. Because whether it’s in the final moments before the game or the lead up, my role is try and provide some guidance whether that’s in a football sense or the occasion itself.
‘It’s a bit of preparation on my part and also what, from experience, I feel the room may need.’
Much of the beauty of sport lies in unpredictability and Postecoglou knows from very recent experience that all the best-laid plans can be blown up in an instant.
Back in that December final, Celtic conceded a goal to Hibernian captain Paul Hanlon before Kyogo Furuhashi conjured up the goals that delivered the trophy.
And within three minutes of kickoff at Ibrox earlier this month, Postecoglou’s team fell behind to an Aaron Ramsey goal amid a hostile cacophony of noise.
‘Resilience is important,’ he admits. ‘For a lot of the year, we have got off to a pretty quick start and got the first goal and have been able to dictate from there.
‘But there are games where that doesn’t happen and it’s important you react the right way. In the big games, we have reacted in the right way.
‘In both the League Cup final and the derby, we got back in the game quickly and made sure that conceding is not going to faze us in the way we want to play our football. It’s great to see the players have embraced that aspect of it because it does give you confidence and belief.
‘As well as I prepare them for the game, you don’t know how it’s going to go, what’s going to transpire. So we keep saying to the boys that whatever the challenge may be, whether it’s early in the game or late in the game, that we have the tools to overcome.
‘The players have gained confidence from the fact we have been able to do it in different ways.’
If there’s one player in the Celtic team that most embodies that kind of resolve, it’s probably Cameron Carter-Vickers.
The central defender has been a rock for Postecoglou this season, a reliable defensive performer even in some of the team’s most erratic and wide-open performances this term.
At Ibrox, he channelled all of his inner strength to ensure that not only did Rangers not add to their early goal but also fired home the winning goal as the Parkhead club stretched their lead at the top of the Premiership table.
Little wonder the permanent acquisition of the Tottenham loanee remains a medium-term priority for the manager.
Postecoglou continues: ‘We got Cam in on deadline day, so for him to be such a consistent performer for us considering he missed all of pre-season is a credit to him.
‘He’s been a fantastic addition to our playing staff, he’s also a great person to have in the dressing room. He’s really calm and belies his years in the way he conducts himself, he acts like a really experienced player. He’s been an important part of our group and he’s had a great year.
‘He’s not the most experienced in terms of his age, but he had a really good three or four years in the Championship, playing for teams that were consistently trying to get promotion.
‘He didn’t just survive in that league, he did very well. When I did my research, he looked a type that could provide leadership, particularly at the back, and that’s how it’s proved.
‘There’s still enormous improvement in him.’
Although the figures have never been officially confirmed, it’s estimated that Celtic’s purchase option on Carter-Vickers will be no cheaper than £6million.
While the defender may command big money, Postecoglou loves the fact there is nothing flashy about his approach to the game.
‘I try to go for the low maintenance ones, it makes my life easier,’ he says. ‘There aren’t too many who have given me headaches this year. Cam’s definitely in that camp but he works closely with the other coaches on one-to-one feedback.
‘He has an inquisitive mind, so he gives his own opinion about how things are going and what we should be doing. He’s been a good part of the group, not just as a footballer but as a person.’