Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou is on the brink of repeating the A-League unbeaten record he set whilst Brisbane Roar boss a decade ago.
The Champions last tasted defeat in the Scottish Premiership at the Tony Macaroni Arena last September when they lost 1-0 to Livingston in a run of three straight away defeats.
Should they avoid defeat to Hearts at Celtic Park tomorrow, they’ll match the 36 game run Postecoglou set with ‘Roarcelona’ in Australia.
As reported by The Glasgow Times, Postecoglou joked about the unbeaten run: “Everyone talks about the 36 games but they don’t talk about what happened after it – we lost five straight away after that and it was a great leveller!
“Look, the run we are on is testament to the boys and the ability to overcome the challenges we had. What’s more important right now for me is that we are undefeated in three this season and we have a fourth at the weekend. We need to focus on that and try to win it.
“There are huge expectations here. The Brisbane run was totally different as you aren’t supposed to go on that kind of run in Australia. That’s why it’s a record for all sports, not just football.”
The Aussie was keen to play down the record, insisting that winning runs are a requirement of a club like Celtic.
He said: “All the sports in Australia have some sort of equalisation or salary cap. They are designed to stop that kind of run happening, so it was a different scenario.
“At Celtic, we are expected to win. That’s not new, it’s embedded in the club and the players have really embraced that part of being here. They understand that when you represent Celtic you are expected to win, but we don’t talk about that.
“What we talk about is expectation around our performances. If we get our football right, the results tend to take care of themselves. In that sense, I don’t think the players have felt the same sort of pressure about winning, because they know that the real pressure lies in us performing at the levels we know we can.”
The current side still have ways to go to match the 69 game unbeaten run set in Brendan Rodgers’ first 18 months as Celtic manager between 2016 and 2017.
Whilst these records are always nice to have, the manager and players don’t seem to be under any illusions that silverware represents the tangible prizes, and unbeaten runs mean little if they aren’t accompanied by trophies.
The run will be secondary in everyone’s mind come 3pm tomorrow when the champions kick off against Hearts.
In other news: Matt O’Riley details important aspect of Celtic squad that will help topple stubborn opposition
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