Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou is embracing the test of coming up against a side like Real Betis.
The Andalusians have built a formidable squad under veteran manager Manuel Pellegrini. In recent years, they’ve snapped up the likes of Nabil Fekir and William Carvalho, adding to quality options including Sergio Canales, Marc Bartra and Cristian Tello.
They’re a side stacked with talent, and Celtic boss Postecoglou is more than aware of that. However, he’s ready for an “enormous” test against such a high-quality outfit.
Postecoglou said [Herald]:
“They finished sixth in La Liga, which is a fantastic competition.
“You just have to look at the teams they finished close to know they are a quality team and they have a quality manager who has been around for a long time and had a lot of success.
“I think it’s a really good group [with Bayer Leverkusen and Ferencvaros]. There are challenges in each team, and for us away from home, this game will be an enormous challenge for us.
“But it’s one we’re looking forward to.”
Celtic boss Postecoglou showing exactly the right attitude ahead of Real Betis showdown
Look, it’s obvious that we have quality opposition up against us in this Europa League group. That shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.
And Postecoglou is right to show the requisite amount of respect. He’s too experienced and respectful to swan in to his first European group stage game and go “Betis? They’re rubbish, we’ll beat them”.
Instead, this is the exact kind of test that Postecoglou would’ve wanted when he took the Celtic job. Against an experienced, wily operator like Manuel Pellegrini, the Bhoys boss is going up against one of the better coaches in Europe.
His team’s not bad either. With some top-tier talents, Real Betis might’ve started slowly, but Postecoglou knows Celtic will have to be ready to be challenged tonight.
But Real Betis is a challenge Celtic, and Postecoglou, really should be excited about. If a threadbare squad can pull off a result this evening in Seville, it would represent the significant progress being made at the club.
Read more: Manuel Pellegrini recounts experience of working with Celtic ‘keeper Joe Hart
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