Ange Postecoglou confirms plan for Celtic fringe players

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Ange Postecoglou has confirmed bounce games have been arranged for the Celtic players not currently getting minutes in his first-team.

Celtic have a relatively easy schedule at the moment compared to what’s coming later in the season, meaning the manager can stick to a pretty consistent starting eleven every week, with no Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday matches.

However, that is resulting in less game time for those on the fringes of his strongest eleven. As a result, the manager is putting plans in place for when he will need to call on them.

Speaking on Celtic TV this afternoon, he said: “We are obviously so used to playing three games a week but having a game on the weekend means our training model is different, we are still almost going through an extended pre-season with the work we’re doing with the players. That’s going to help us once the games do start.

“Our performances right through pre-season were solid and that’s continued into the first two games. The first game I thought there was some good stuff, I thought there was some stuff we could have done better, but there was progression in the second game and the way we controlled it, it’s been a decent start.

“It’s like anything, it’s beneficial if we use the weeks right. Otherwise, it’s a waste. For us, we have been planning this for quite a while. It gives us an opportunity to continue to do some solid work with the boys, physically and around our game model, once the games start, we know are not going to get a lot of time to do it, now is the time to bed it down.

“We have a couple of bounce games organised for the guys who haven’t played, so when we need to throw them in, they’re match ready. You’ve seen in the first two games, we have had injuries and illnesses, I want to put them in knowing they are ready. We’re using the time as effectively as we can.”

This will be good for new signings such as Aaron Mooy, Ben Siegrist and Alexandro Bernabei, as well as long-serving talents such as James Forrest.

Celtic play mid-week to weekend football every week between the end of the month at the World Cup, save for an international break, so everyone must be in the best shape possible to contribute.

Rotation will be on the agenda quite quickly, as the manager has confirmed already this summer.

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