Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has stated that he won’t allow any excuses for poor player performances after being disappointed with elements of the Raith Rovers win.
The Hoops were poor in the first-half of the 4-0 rout of John McGlynn’s Championship side on Sunday. It was something that infuriated Ange as he called out his players post-match [Daily Record]. It’s fair to say he was anything but pleased.
And it was clear to see why. Despite being 1-0 ahead and comfortable, we were rarely pushing ourselves or looking to get forward with any real pace. There was also a more flat atmosphere inside Parkhead given the occasion wasn’t quite as glamorous as some of our previous fixtures.
However, Ange was in no mood to allow a reduced crowd allocation to be used as an excuse for a poor performance. The manager was speaking at a pre-match press conference where 67HailHail was in attendance. And after being asked by More than 90 Mins whether the lack of atmosphere had a part to play, Ange said:
“Potentially it could but it’s one of those things I would like to eliminate. A bit like refereeing decisions, or our schedule, or injuries. All of those things you can use as a clutch for not doing certain things. But I think the things I was talking about on Sunday in the first-half should be givens irrespective.
“If we’re playing in the local park just amongst ourselves then bringing in that right intent, that work ethic, that bravery and encourage that I want in our football, then we shouldn’t have to rely on our crowd to create an atmosphere that brings that. Sometimes in a derby game it might be easy to do those things because the crowd’s behind you and everyone is up for it. Well, that’s not what the best teams do and it’s not what the best players do.
“They bring it every time irrespective of the conditions. So I’m reluctant and I won’t make allowances and I didn’t make allowances for our performance in the first-half because maybe the atmosphere wasn’t at the levels we’ve experienced before. That’s no excuse.”
The message from Ange is clear – it’s down to Celtic to raise the roof
A very important message being delivered by the manager here that may have gone unnoticed by any onlookers this afternoon.
What he’s effectively saying is that it isn’t down to the support to lift Celtic. Whilst there will be times when the players feed off of the environment and the atmosphere, it shouldn’t a requirement for good performance levels. That’s just lazy.
In fact, it’s really the opposite that should ring true. It’s down to the players to get the fans more involved and into the game. For example, if we had blown Raith away in the first 45, the atmosphere would’ve been close to electric and raptures of applause would’ve swept Celtic Park.
That they didn’t said more about the performance levels of the players on the pitch than it did the supporters in the stand. There’s only so much they can do.
You’ve got to admire the way Ange goes about dealing with lower performance levels too. There are no excuses getting bandied around whatsoever. He doesn’t resort to referee complaints even though he’s had reason to, whilst he doesn’t bemoan injury woes either.
There are plenty in Scottish football who could be taking a leaf out of Ange’s book. He just won’t let his players away with sloppy performances, unlike many.
In other news, Giorgos Giakoumakis discusses the superb technique he keeps pulling off at Celtic
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