Ange Postecoglou has stated that he hasn’t been able to shape up his squad the way he would like to due to injuries and international obligations this term.
Postecoglou has undergone a monumental rebuilding job with regards to the first-team. An entire new team has been signed whilst key players from recent years has departed. The club is now unrecognisable compared at 12 months ago under Neil Lennon, for example.
As you would imagine, there have been plenty of obstacles for Ange to overcome. It hasn’t been a smooth journey so far despite the fact we’re sitting at the top of the Premiership, with injuries and international call-ups consistently ruining the consistency of selection.
And Ange believes not being able to shape up his squad because of it has been one of the few frustrations of this season.
As quoted by the Daily Record, Ange said: “We are going to need all of them. We still have a heavy schedule and we want to maintain and improve our levels of football. We can only do that if we have more than just a core group of players. This is exactly why I wanted to put this squad together.
“I have not had the chance yet to really shape it the way I want to in games and between games. We have injuries and absences and international duty and all these kinds of things. It’s great we are getting to that stage. I have never seen it as competition for places, I have seen it as players pushing each other on a daily basis to be the best you can be.
“That’s why you want to be at a big club. You don’t want to be at a big club and be ambitious and then the club signs players that aren’t going to challenge you. You know that isn’t sustainable. Every player wants to come in here every day and prove himself and try to be better than the day before. And it’s easier to do that when you have a guy alongside you who plays in the same position and works just as hard and is just as ambitious.”
Ange Postecoglou close to having all of his top stars available to him
It’s incredible to think of the job Ange has done when you take into consideration just how many players have picked up injury knocks.
Yes, some will put it down to the intensity levels being set at Lennoxtown and on the pitch at Parkhead. Perhaps it’s simply a case of the hectic schedule we have to face and Ange not having the players at his disposal for a competitive squad.
But all of that has now changed. All of a sudden, Celtic are flying with so many options in differing areas of the park. Look at, for example, the central-midfield position. Even with David Turnbull out we now have a host of different players we can utilise, giving Ange the flexibility he needs for a title push.
Sure, we still have our injury absentees at the moment. Turnbull remains sidelined along with striker Kyogo Furuhashi. But the frequency of these knocks is decreasing, as is the length of time players are having to sit out for.
Ange is now at the stage where he is close to having all of his top stars available. That will give him the opportunity to shape and change things exactly how he would want to with a full squad.
It’s exciting times at the club, that’s for sure. And how Ange manages to progress the club with a full squad available to him is going to be absolutely intriguing.
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