Ange Postecoglou has reiterated that he expects strong performances from his Celtic team for an entire 90 minutes in the UEFA Champions League, rather than isolated periods of the games.
Celtic looked excellent for a spell against Real Madrid in last week’s 3-0 defeat, but faded after half-time and didn’t respond particularly well to the opening goal.
Postecoglou wasn’t a happy man in his post-match press conference and, in his first media appearance since then, has come out with similar comments about the performance.
Speaking in Poland ahead of tomorrow’s Shakhtar Donetsk test, Postecoglou said [STV]: “I was a bit frustrated and disappointed because it’s not just about playing our football for a certain amount of time. I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t have done that for longer.
“In the context of who we were playing against, I understand that you are playing against one of the best teams in the world at the moment, maybe the best. And for us to be able to match them by playing our football was encouraging, but I didn’t see any reason why that couldn’t continue beyond the time it did.
“Looking back, the disappointing thing was, when we conceded, we conceded again quickly. There was no need to. If we had hung in the game there’s always the chance to create again and just because you concede to them, an unbelievable team, we should have just got back to it and kept playing our football. In the end we lose 3-0.
“As encouraging as it was, for me, we could have been more competitive for longer in that game. But that’s the levels we are at. We want to compete at this level, that’s what you’ve got to do. At this level 60 minutes is never going to be enough. You have to make sure you see the game out and be resilient when you need to.”
Some may consider Postecoglou’s assessment a little harsh. It certainly goes against the grain of the optimism fans felt in the wake of such a heavy defeat – a rarity for most supporters.
However, these are exactly the kind of standards we need to meet if the team are going to do anything in Group F. Postecoglou is simply setting the bar for his players to reach. It’s what I want to hear.
It’s obviously not easy. Postecoglou isn’t necessarily criticising the players. Nor should fans. It’s a team effort. It’s a collective push towards a mentality that makes Celtic a force throughout a whole match.
If we see it tomorrow, the Bhoys will be hard to beat.
In other news, “They look convincing”; Shakhtar boss Igor Jovicevic delivers verdict on ‘aggressive’ Celtic.
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