Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou brushed off media questions about a Kilmarnock penalty claim in Saturday’s semi-final with a funny reference to comments made by Rangers boss Michael Beale.
Beale, last week, suggested Postecoglou was lucky at Celtic due to the amount of money he has to spend.
And when asked about Willie Collum’s refusal to blow for a spot kick after Giorgos Giakoumakis and Joe Wright tussled in the Celtic box, Postecoglou’s explanation was simple.
The Bhoys boss said: “Well, you know, I’m a pretty lucky man, so I think it’s filtering through to the team.”
The furore around the penalty claim has been a bit overblown. Derek McInnes was left absolutely fuming in his post-match comments but in reality it was a 50/50 call that could have gone either way.
The Celtic manager disarming it in this way from this side is pretty savvy media management.
Postecoglou went on to praise both Kilmarnock and his own team for playing out a thrilling 90 minutes of football.
It was the kind of open encounter that he thrives on, with Celtic also showing a fine battling spirit to come away with the victory in tough conditions and on a terrible pitch.
Postecoglou had his own views on the pitch too, as we discussed earlier, believing the authorities have to do better with these big showpiece matches.
Overall, he seems in a very happy place right now as more work continues in the transfer market and big matches in three competitions are on the horizon.
In other news, Charlie Mulgrew taking Celtic inspiration into new coaching career.
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