“I’ve got no doubt”; Celtic boss shares his Madrid verdict as he makes improvement claim

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Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has stated he was proud of his players this evening, as they suffered a 5-1 loss against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.

The 57-year-old watched on as the world-class Real Madrid side secured their top-spot status in the Champions League group stages.

Although the Hoops were on the end of a heavy defeat, they still had plenty of chances of their own and continued to play their football throughout.

However, at one stage in the second half, Carlo Ancelotti’s side looked to be showcasing their incredible quality as they stretched their two-goal lead at the break to five.

Speaking to BT Sport in the aftermath of the result, Postecoglou was asked if he feared the worst when his team were facing the onslaught of the Madrid frontline.

The former Socceroos boss insisted he wasn’t fearful due to his players continuing to play their football, and he admitted he was proud of them for their efforts in the Spanish capital.

He said [BT Sport]: “I never fear the worst because we’re still trying to play. I’m really proud of our players; we’ve lost 5-1, and I understand that against a fantastic football team. But the players never stopped trying to play.

“We created, I don’t know how many chances; Thibaut Courtois was outstanding. So I don’t fear for anything with this group of players. At the end of the day, we’ve lost to a very good football team, but I’m still proud of their efforts.”

Although the Bhoys failed to pick up a victory from their six European games this season, for many supporters, there has been a real sign of progression under the current manager in this competition.

The Celtic boss continued to express the importance of qualifying for the competition on a regular basis, as he insisted that players such as Matt O’Riley and Reo Hatate are improving thanks to their involvement this season.

Ange continued: “I’ve said before, that’s the key for us. To be here every year. I’ve got no doubt the players have grown from this. If you look at Matt O’Riley, Reo Hatate, amongst others, their growing in every game, and this is their sixth game of football at this level.

“I’ve got no doubt they’ll be better footballers, quite a few of our guys, and we will learn from it. But only if we qualify again.”

With the 2022/23 European campaign coming to an end, the Hoops’ focus now switches to domestic action, and the aim will be to return to the Champions League by retaining our title.

And Postecoglou has no doubt that his squad will do exactly that if they put in similar levels of performance to this evening, stating that his side will be ‘hard to stop’.

“If we perform like that like we have been, we’ll be hard to stop in the league. It took an enormous effort tonight for our boys to try and match it with one of the best football teams in the world, but if we go in there with that intent every week, I think we’ll be hard to stop.”

Celtic must now do all they can to return and learn from experiences next season.

As Ange Postecoglou has already mentioned on several occasions, the most important step for Celtic now is to return next season.

In order to do that, winning the Scottish Premiership title for a second time under his stewardship is absolutely essential, and in my opinion, the squad will be confident of doing exactly that.

The Celtic boss is pretty much spot on in his post-match assessment of the Real defeat. Of course, we are upset and frustrated, but there are still positive signs.

However, the job is far from done, and it is now crucial that we return next season and improve on the experiences of our first Champions League group stage as a squad.

Some might say that Postecoglou shouldn’t be cleared of criticism, and that is correct; tonight and the campaign as a whole was a big disappointment.

But it is also fair to take a look at the bigger picture. We have shown how we can compete at this level against some of the best sides in Europe.

I believe we will be better off for this campaign, and it will be seen as a huge learning curve during Postecoglou’s tenure. But the hard work has only just started, and we must return to this level next season.

In other news, Chris Sutton delivers level-headed verdict after Celtic’s European disappointment.