Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has admitted that changes are likely for this evening’s Premier Sports Cup clash against Ross County.
The Hoops travel to Dingwall this evening for the second time this season as they look to secure a place in the quarter-final stage of the cup competition.
Tonight’s match-up also kick starts the beginning of another busy fixture schedule for Ange Postecoglou’s squad, who will be involved in two games each week right up until November.
So far this campaign, the Hoops have only faced one game per week, which has given the squad plenty of time to recover and work on the training ground during the week.
This has also meant that the Celtic manager has resisted from making wholesale changes to his starting 11, with the majority of starters keeping their place in the side.
However, on Sunday, we were given our first glimpse of changes, as regulars from last season, Carl Starfelt and Liel Abada, came into the team.
After building a strong squad for the season ahead, and with the fixture list set to ramp up, some sections of the support have suggested that further changes to the side could be expected across the next few weeks.
Tonight’s game against Ross County in the Premier Sports Cup could be the ideal time for Postecoglou to rest a few members of his squad ahead of a huge week of action to come.
Speaking to the press ahead of the trip to Dingwall, Ange Postecoglou suggested that changes are likely, as he also provided a fitness update on Giorgos Giakoumakis, who missed last weekend’s game.
He said [Celtic FC]: “Everyone pulled up fine from the weekend. Obviously, Joe had quite a few stitches in his head, and that was probably the main thing to come out of the game.
“But, everyone else pulled up really well. Giakoumakis is back fit; he trained today and yesterday. So, yeah, we’ve got a fully fit squad.
“We’ll make some changes tomorrow (Wednesday), I don’t know how many. But, again, it’s about trying to put out a team I think will get to the level of performance we need to win in a difficult game.
“It’s a quick turnaround, obviously, for Saturday. Ross County away is tricky anyway because you get back pretty late or pretty early in the hours of the next morning.
“So, with all that in mind, we will make some changes tomorrow. But, again, with the view that it’s a team that can perform at the levels we need to.”
Ideal opportunity for Celtic fringe stars to prove their work ahead of huge few weeks.
Although Postecoglou hasn’t confirmed exactly how many changes he will make to his side this evening, tonight’s match feels like the ideal opportunity ahead of some huge games in the coming seven days.
It will also provide fringe stars such as Aaron Mooy with the opportunity to prove their worth to the 57-year-old and show why they can be trusted to play from the start on the domestic front going forward.
Some might be reluctant to see wholesale changes made to the side. However, with the strength and depth that this Celtic squad currently has, Postecoglou has plenty of options to choose from going into the game.
Come 6:30 PM, it should be interesting to see the sort of team that the Celtic manager chooses to play.
Hopefully, we are able to see a few debuts, including the likes of Ben Siegrist and Sead Haksabanovic, mixed amongst regulars within the Celtic side.
In other news, Sky Sports confirm latest Celtic fixture set for broadcast.
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