Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou looks within Lennoxtown to eliminate Livi excuse

By Euan Davidson

March 5, 2022

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has the finest resources available to him at Lennoxtown, including a plastic pitch, as as the Bhoys prepare for Livingston.

And the Celtic boss has clearly asked himself “why aren’t we using this?”. Because that’s the exact strategy the manager has outlined ahead of facing Livi tomorrow afternoon.

Celtic have struggled on plastic surfaces this season. We overcame Alloa Athletic on their pitch, but games against Livingston and Bodo/Glimt saw the Hoops come unstuck. Ange Postecoglou, at last, seems tired of it being an excuse.

Ahead of the Livingston encounter, the Celtic boss made it clear he didn’t want the pitch to be a factor any more. He said [Sun]: “It is a real thing — the pitch plays differently.

“There is no point trying to ignore it. I can tell the players to ignore it and play their normal game, but you do have to adjust. It becomes a little bit of a different game on that surface and the players need to be prepared for that.

“But that doesn’t mean it stops you from being successful. You just have to adjust your game and your approach so that it removes any negative impact the pitch has on our football.

“We will address it. We have an artificial pitch at Lennoxtown and we will train on that on Saturday. This just gives the players a little bit more of a feeling for it. On an artificial pitch there are still fundamental principles of our game that we can do.”

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has exactly the right idea; but why not use it before?

You’d have thought this wouldn’t be a new way of thinking. I mean absolutely no harm to Ange Postecoglou or the Celtic coaches there.

Surely it stands to reason, though, that if you’re preparing to play on a plastic pitch, and you have one at your training ground, you use it? It’s strange that this hasn’t been done before. Especially earlier this season, and against Bodo/Glimt.

Yes, there’s nothing like training on a proper grass pitch, and Celtic have the luxury of doing that. Sometimes, though, you’ve got to adapt for what’s coming ahead. The ball moves differently, the weight of pass needs to be judged better, and there are different issues that come up on artificial surfaces.

Not preparing for that, when Celtic have the means to do so, seems bizarre. So thankfully, common sense has prevailed.

Ange Postecoglou doesn’t want to use excuses; he never has as Celtic boss. Despite the fact he’s had a laundry list of misfortunes and grievances since coming to Parkhead in the summer.

The pitch at the Tony Macaroni is just one of those excuses.

It’s time to stop it being a factor.

Read more: Celtic star gives simple diagnosis for Bhoys’ Livingston struggles