Ange alludes to chaotic couple of days at Celtic; responds to dreadful pitch in Perth

By John McGinley

December 26, 2021

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has admitted it’s been a challenging couple of days at the club after his squad was ravaged by absences vs St Johnstone this afternoon.

Key players such as Callum McGregor, Anthony Ralston and Joe Hart were all missing from the starting line-up in Perth for unknown reasons.

It’s been assumed by many fans that there are Covid-19 issues within the squad or at least close contact notifications.

Postecoglou didn’t go into the reason for absences in his BBC Radio Scotland interview pre-match but did suggest it has been a tough week since Wednesday night’s draw at St Mirren.

The Bhoys boss said: “We’ve obviously had a challenging couple of days. But we’ve had a challenging year so far. Players selected are the ones available and fit. Kyogo was really keen on playing today knowing we have a break coming up.

“They all train every day, they train hard for this reason. I can’t write down what day their opportunity will come. It comes along and they have to be ready for it. We ensure that every day by pushing them in training.”

Meanwhile, the quality of the McDiarmid Park pitch was also put to Postecoglou by reporter Kenny Macintyre.

It’s notably dry, bumpy and ropey today with one goal in particular covered in sand.

The Celtic manager said: “Yeah they’re all just things that are there to see how our character is revealed. Every game has its own little challenges and today there will be a couple of different ones for us. We don’t make excuses, we just get on with it and hopefully overcome what is in front of us.”

So far the match is going well despite Kyogo limping off with another apparent hamstring injury and the weakened squad.

Celtic have been by far the better team and have a two-goal lead for their efforts. It looks like three points today and painless movement into a much-needed winter break.

In other news, Former Celtic Bhoy set for dramatic transfer switch to Scottish Premiership side.