Ange Postecoglou has stated he has no interest in keeping his players ‘happy’ at Celtic, believing that should happen naturally because they play for such a brilliant football club.
Postecoglou was speaking after Saturday’s 5-1 win over St Mirren which included three players coming off the bench to score in the second half.
It was another fantastic sign of squad depth but, inevitably in Scotland, it led to loaded questions about how he keeps all these talents happy at the Bhoys.
Ange Postecoglou – not making cups of tea
The Celtic boss nailed the response and even delivered his latest one-liner quip, stating [Daily Record]: “Everyone keeps saying I have to keep everyone happy. It’s not my role to keep anyone happy. Am I supposed to go around making them cups of tea or buy their wife some flowers?
“They should be happy with a smile on their face every day because they’re doing what they love and representing a fantastic football club. There’s always going to be competition for places and things change pretty quickly in football.
“Their role is to be ready to be called upon and that’s what they do. In terms of the guys on the bench today, irrespective of whether they’re starting or not, they’re contributing. And we’re going to need them. At the moment players are missing out but at the business end of the season when games have real consequences – we’ll need everybody.”
A serious point behind the amusement
Yes, it’s always fun to hear Ange deliver a quip of that nature but his point is serious. The standards in this Celtic squad are set so high that you can’t really stake your happiness on just falling short of a starting line-up.
Every player Postecoglou has picked to be part of his squad has a role to play. He moves on those who don’t as we witnessed in January.
If it was about keeping certain people happy, the minutes that players get wouldn’t be as hard-earned as they are and that could lead to complacency.
Nobody invested in Celtic wants to see that. This relentless march to success will do us just fine, even if it means there’s constant speculation about some players’ moods.
In other news, Celtic Scottish Cup QF draw; line-up, time, dates and broadcast details.
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