Ange Postecoglou has revealed what he and and the Celtic players spoke about after last week’s defeat to Bodo/Glimt, ahead of a testing second leg tonight.
The Celtic manager is hoping to turn around a 3-1 aggregate score in Bodo, after the Norwegian champions stunned the Bhoys at Parkhead.
After the game, Postecoglou has said, the lesson was about mental toughness, especially in games that aren’t necessarily going Celtic’s way. The Hoops had plenty of opportunities last Thursday, but it was Bodo/Glimt who were more clinical than Celtic.
He said [Herald]: “Last week, they were a lot more efficient in the box than we were.
“We had plenty of opportunities that we didn’t take, they had less opportunities and took them.
“At the same time, that’s not an area we’ve struggled in this year. We’ve been really good in the box and scored a lot of goals. I think the context of it was that they scored early and that made us a little anxious about it. We’ve just got to stay really focused on our football and really calm through that process.
“That’s what we spoke about, we got ourselves back into the game, they then score a third goal from the deflection. Those are the things that happen in football, you just have to stay calm and deal with it in our way.
“If there was a lesson out of that game it is that we don’t need to get too anxious or too frustrated if things aren’t working out.
“We can find solutions, as we have in other games, by playing our football.”
Sticking to the methods Ange Postecoglou has implemented has served Celtic well thus far; can Hoops overturn Bodo/Glimt advantage?
It’s easy to get in a panic if things aren’t going your way.
Especially with tens of thousands of supporters watching. Your instinct, if losing, is surely to try to adjust and tweak, rather than stick with how things are.
For Ange Postecoglou, though, things are a bit different. We’ve seen Celtic win games late on, and that’s because the players have stuck with the system and the instructions from the boss. Take, for example, wins over Ross County, Dundee United and Dundee.
It takes utter belief in your way of playing football, and not a small amount of composure, to think like this. Especially when it’s matched with a real desire to make progress in Europe. But Postecoglou has got where he is with a rigid confidence in his methods. To be fair to him, it’s worked.
Can Celtic overturn the 3-1 deficit by playing the same way against Bodo/Glimt? Well, why not? That’s what Postecoglou is banking on.
Because he’s right; Celtic haven’t struggled to convert chances in recent weeks and months. Last week seemed more of an aberration than the norm, and we know that this Hoops side is full of match-winners from all over the park.
It’s about keeping the faith. Faith in the manager, faith in the system, and faith that Celtic are by no means out of this tie yet.
Read more: Maeda’s underrated start to life at Celtic and why he’s a perfect bench option for Bodo tie
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