Ange Postecoglou has railed against the concept of UEFA Champions League football not being beneficial for Celtic despite a disappointing group-stage campaign.
The Celtic boss is striving to turn the Bhoys into a team that competes at the top level and has stayed on message in that regard even though results have gone against us in the first four matches.
Asked whether or not group stage participation is beneficial, Postecoglou said today as quoted by The Daily Record: “As opposed to just not being involved at all? So what you’re saying is that we play domestic competition and just ignore everything else? I get your question, and I understand the whole… living here for 18 months now, I’ve seen the Scottish national team go from heroes to no-hopers to heroes again.
“So I get this whole boom-bust cycle, and getting to here, and the whole ‘woe is me’. We’re not the only country that struggles to get results at the Champions League level.
“I can only talk for my club but if anyone can tell me that from the four games we’ve played that we don’t deserve to be there, or that we’ve been outplayed or looked out of place, then I reckon they’re talking from an agenda or some sort of bias.
“The questions I’ve had after each of our games is about opportunities missed. The ‘opportunities missed’ suggests that we’ve got to improve some areas for sure, but doesn’t say that we somehow don’t belong in a competition that we’ve earned the right to be in.”
Postecoglou is spot on of course. The constant thirst for post-mortems and picking over the state of Scottish football is often a scourge, especially in the context of what Celtic are trying to do in the Champions League.
Celtic’s results are obviously not something that have been welcome in the competition, but you can see what the coaching staff and players are trying to do.
The wider context is that success won’t come here overnight but with consistent qualification for the tournament over a number of years. If we can back up this year’s entry with another group stage run next year, and the year after, then that will be the key to improving standards across the board at the club – on and off the pitch.
In other news, Exclusive: Former Celtic hero McNamara pinpoints key Champions League area of improvement.
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