Postecoglou aims to pay back fans for their ‘leap of faith’

ANGE POSTECOGLOU will never forget his first derby experience under the disco lights at Celtic Park. February’s visit of Rangers was significant for the fact his team hit the top of the Premiership table for virtually the first time this season.

Just as important to the Australian was the emphatic nature of a 3-0 win that rewarded a support who had taken ‘a leap of faith’ to get behind him and his players during a sticky start to his reign.

Today’s noon kick-off is likely to have a different feel to that previous midweek encounter, but there is no drop-off in expectation ahead of a game that could effectively clinch the Premiership title.

‘We know it will be a special day and our supporters are going to be up for it,’ said Postecoglou. ‘Day or night, I don’t think it matters. It’s going to be a cracking atmosphere.

‘The support has been behind the team all year. They have really had a leap of faith with this team and backed it from the start when maybe it wasn’t quite so evident that we could be successful this year.

‘They know we are in the final stretch and I’m sure they will want to make Sunday as much of an electric atmosphere as they can.

‘Our role is to try to reciprocate by putting on a performance that reflects the support we have had.’

Written off after a troubled start to the league campaign that featured away losses to Hearts, Rangers and Livingston in the first six games, Postecoglou’s team displayed guts to hang tough during a difficult winter schedule blighted by a succession of injuries to key players.

The winter break proved a mercy, allowing regeneration for tired muscles and the very make-up of the squad courtesy of the signings of three players from Japan plus Matt O’Riley, who all checked in during January. Reo Hatate was the star turn of the February 3 derby, scoring twice past Allan McGregor before teeing up Liel Abada for the third.

‘Going into it we knew how significant the game was,’ continued Postecoglou. ‘It was our chance to go to top spot for the first time all year. After working awfully hard and chasing all season we knew the significance of that.

‘Irrespective of the atmosphere, you build yourself up for that. You wait and see what the reaction is from the players but the whole group was fantastic, even though many of them were experiencing that derby for the first time.

‘Boys like O’Riley, Hatate and Daizen Maeda, for those kind of guys to stand up on a night like that and for the whole group to put on a performance knowing it was going to be so significant in terms of the league was pretty special.

‘There have been other games where we have played better for longer spells. But on that particular night, for 45 minutes, we showed against a very good opponent how we can play.

‘That was pleasing for me because it gave us encouragement to push on. It showed that this group was willing to embrace the challenge of playing our football in the toughest of tests.’

Rangers turned in a conservative performance in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against RB Leipzig on Thursday but Postecoglou doubts Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men will be inclined to sit in today.

He added: ‘On Thursday they had a very different objective. They have to beat us, so from our perspective we just have to prepare ourselves to play the football we can.

‘We understand that the games are running out and that every game we win between now and the end of the year gets us closer to our goal.

‘And there’s no doubt a win on Sunday gets us closer. ’