Ange Postecoglou has told his Celtic players to show no fear in upcoming matches against RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk and Real Madrid because he’ll take responsibility if it doesn’t work out in the Bhoys’ favour.
Postecoglou has spoken candidly since last week’s 3-1 defeat to Leipzig in Germany, feeling the Celtic players regressed into a negative mindset after earning a brilliant equaliser in the match.
He recognises it was just a natural reaction, but has told his players to show more bravery – because he’ll be standing in front of them to take responsibility for any criticism that comes their way.
As quoted by The Scotsman, he said: “It’s human nature, particularly with the group we have. They’re still experiencing something new. It’s by trying to show them that they have protection if things go wrong. I’ll take the responsibility for it. Don’t fear.
“It’s only human nature that, playing away from home in a Champions League game and you’ve equalised, you feel like you are really in the game. You’ll tighten up a little bit and think ‘Jeez, a point in Leipzig would be brilliant, we don’t want to give away this point. Instead of passing forward, maybe I’ll just hit the safe pass. Instead of making a run forward, maybe I’ll just sit here in case we lose the ball.’
“So, that’s all the process. It’s just human nature. It’s about trying to show the players and get them to understand that’s not the way we’ve set up to play, it’s not going to help us in our endeavour to be successful. And if it does go wrong in doing what I want them to do then I’ll take responsibility.
“If you want to improve, if you want to get better, you’ve got to get out of that sort of insecurity you have about anything and be bold in your approach. That’s my view, anyway. Others will have a different view. But that’s kind of my view why we play our kind of football. It’s why we take the approach we do. It’s why I sign the players I have and put the team together the way I have because it’s designed to play this kind of football.”
Hopefully, this is the kind of communication that resonates with the Celtic squad. If they have trust in the manager, then it should free them up in a match such as tonight, better allowing them to play their football.
Postecoglou fully understands that the way his team plays football can carry a risk for individuals – it’s a high-tempo, high-stakes approach that can result in errors and personal criticism. But he isn’t interested in shying away from that.
He’s not a manager that will ever through his team under the bus to protect himself. That should go some way towards ensuring that tonight’s team can really take the game to Leipzig.
In other news, UEFA Youth League disappointment for Celtic.
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