Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou's brilliant instant reaction to drawing rivals in Scottish Cup

By David Walton

March 14, 2022

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou was typically brilliant in his response to seeing that his side drew Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-finals.

The Hoops will come up against the Ibrox side for a place in May’s Scottish Cup final. Both sides have managed a victory apiece in the 2 games against each other so far, with the latest being a convincing 3-0 win for Postecoglou’s Bhoys back in February.

Celtic managed to progress to the semis after tonight’s 3-0 win over Dundee United at Tannadice. It marks yet another big night for the Hoops manager, who has moved a step closer to a historic potential treble success.

But Ange was certainly in no mood to blow the draw out of proportion. When presented with the fixture news by Premier Sports, the Celtic boss reaction was typically reserved:

“Okay, well, yeah, we’re in the semi-finals and we’ve got Rangers so…yeah, on we go.”

When pushed further, Ange said: “Yeah it’ll be massive.m That was the prize on offer today. You’ve got to get through the semi-finals at Hampden and irrespective of who you’re playing against it’s going to be a massive game. As I said, that’s the reward for a really good performance from the boys tonight.”

Ange Postecoglou will have Celtic fully focused on Rangers, but only when the time comes

Ange has never been one to go over the top when it comes to these things. Regardless of who we drew tonight, he was never going to make a big deal out of it. That’s just not him as a person or as a manager.

Sure, it’s a colossal game. And when it comes around, the supporters will be itching for us to win the game and make the Scottish Cup final. But for Ange, it’s only something that’s going to come into his thinking come the actual timing of the clash.

The Scottish Cup semi-final dates aren’t scheduled to take place until April 16th/17th [Scottish FA]. There’s plenty of football for Celtic to navigate until then.

Ange’s immediate focus now goes to Saturday’s Premiership encounter with Ross County at Parkhead. Any talk of future Rangers games will be totally put to bed. Whilst he was keen to acknowledge how rewarding the fixture is for the players, it’s simply not a big deal for him just now.

As soon as we start looking ahead to future derby clashes, that’s when we’ll drop crucial points in the league. This is why you just have to love Ange. He continues to keep a relaxed and composed stance on these kinds of things.

Come kick-off, it’ll certainly be a massive occasion with all of our passion being invested in it. But for now, it’s just another future date for Ange and the players.

In other news, Callum McGregor steals the show at Tannadice to send Celtic back to Hampden