Ange believes European pain will be good for his men in the long run
Ange Postecoglou believes the pain of Champions League disappointment is something his Celtic squad had to experience for their development as players.
Following today’s match against Livingston, the Hoops will face Real Madrid in their final group match.
They will only have pride to play for as they are still to record a win, and can no longer even hope for a parachute down to the Europa League.
Yet while disappointed at the outcome, the Hoops manager remains positive about the
importance of the campaign for his future plans for the club.
“For our guys, it was their first time in Europe at this level. So to perform motivates them to come back and make an impact,” he said.
“I know we’ve got some talented young footballers, who want to improve, and they’re not afraid of tackling the very best.
“Reo Hatate and Matt O’Riley, for example, have both been outstanding.
“In just 12 months, they’ve taken their game to a level where they are competitive against the best. In another 12 months, I’m sure you will see another level in them.”
Hatate’s confident display against Real at Celtic Park, a game the hosts lost 3-0, was particularly impressive, given the Japanese only came out of university two years ago.
“How far Reo can go in the game is up to him. He works hard on his game, and he’s very motivated,” said Postecoglou.
“He never loses self-belief. You saw that last Tuesday night against Shakhtar. If he makes a mistake, he just gets on with it.
“He goes again, and tries to be as creative as he can.
“We encourage that. We give players licence to be brave with their passing and running.
“Sometimes it doesn’t work out, especially at Champions League level. But they know we won’t be critical internally, irrespective of what’s going on externally.
“We want them to be the best they can be. The only way they will get there is by being brave and courageous, instead of making safe passes.
“We lost against Shakhtar and, as much as it was a world-class finish, we lacked concentration at that moment.
“We had a set-piece but, once it broke down, our defensive structure was poor. We lost focus and discipline for a second, and top talent will punish you at Champions League level.
“You’ve got to go through those experiences and feel that pain. So the players and us as a group will learn a lot from that.”
If Celtic have come unstuck in Europe, domestically they continue to set the standard.
In the run-up to this afternoon’s game in West Lothian, Livingston manager David Martindale joked cheerfully about sending out his team to play in two banks of five as an exercise in damage-limitation.
However, having seen Livi go close to beating Rangers at Ibrox last weekend, the Celtic manager does not intend to let himself be flattered into complacency.
“Every game has its challenges. But Davie’s selling his team short a bit,” he said.
“They’ve got attacking threats as well, they’ve shown that. Particularly at their place, we know it’s always a tough game.
“What underpins them is that they’re a hard-working team, and you’ve got to respect that, irrespective of how they set up.
“But we’re a hard-working team as well, so there are common traits between the two sides.
“We have to match that workrate and play to the best of our ability.”