Ange Postecoglou has masterminded a run of crucial, tight Celtic wins in both the Scottish Premiership and the Premier Sports Cup in recent weeks.
A 1-0 win at Hampden over St Johnstone put Ange into his first final as Celtic boss. Then, a 2-1 against Aberdeen and another 1-0 victory against Hearts kept a solid streak alive.
It’s testament to how much better Celtic are at seeing out games. At crucial moments, Celtic are refusing to let up their attacking style, but also keep the ball well and remain concentrated throughout. Many would praise Postecoglou for this turnaround.
Except, he’s not taking the credit. Not really. To him, it’s specifically the duo of Callum McGregor and Joe Hart who are steering the team at the latter ends of matches.
The Celtic manager, who faces a tough trip to a damaged Tannadice on Sunday, explained his thinking [Herald]:
“All you can do is look at the outcomes and the way we’re seeing out games.
“Callum and Joe Hart, the really experienced boys, are big on just driving the lads and telling them that’s the expectations around this football club.
“That’s a positive thing. It’s not me driving it, it’s the players themselves. They want to get rewards for their hard work. They understand the expectations for us, there are no excuses for us.
“From that point of view you’d rather win much more comfortably. But even winning 1-0 I still think instils belief in them.”
This team of Celtic players know exactly what they have to do for Ange, with Callum McGregor and Joe Hart setting the tone
No shock that it’s the captain, and seemingly the co-captain, who are setting the tone for Celtic under Ange Postecoglou.
What’s great about this manager, amongst other things, is how selfless he is in giving out praise to his squad. For a manager who’s reportedly not super close with his players, the messages he sends out are fulsome in praise and respect.
It’s the players driving the team to these tight, important victories. We might not be seeing the out-and-out “Angeball” in terms of taking chances and racking up cricket scores just now, but we’re seeing out massively crucial league games, against tough opposition.
Make no mistake, if Celtic can come out of December relatively unscathed, then the signs are good for the rest of the season. Being dominant in latter stages of matches is integral to achieving that.
McGregor knows the sting of loss. Last season would’ve been utterly unacceptable to a man with a career defined by success and trophies. Hart, meanwhile, has plenty of incentive. After a few years of being written off, he’s showing exactly why he was an England international and top European keeper for so long.
The belief and the attitude is undoubtedly there. Yes, Postecoglou’s right in that he wants to build more emphatic score-lines.
But we’re winning.
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