Ange Postecoglou has insisted that he is trying to build Celtic to be a team that has quality and threats across the board, rather than one that becomes reliant on one or two players.
Jota is the current hero of the Celtic support after five direct goal contributions in five matches, including a goal against Motherwell on Saturday.
The Bhoys boss was asked how key the Portuguese talent is becoming to his plans, but Ange was quick to shine a light on the efforts of others in the Celtic squad without disparaging the Benfica winger.
Speaking his press conference [YouTube], he said: “I mean Abada went through that spell, Kyogo went through that spell. We’re creating a team that has multiple threats in an attacking sense. Jota’s slotted in really well but I really think there’s more to come from him – he’ll improve a lot for sure.
“I don’t think that means he’s any more key than Kyogo or Liel. Ajeti when he played, scored. The way we play helps these attacking players bring out the quality they have, the way we set up. Jota himself would be the first to say he’s benefitting from that.
“He scored a great goal but you’re not going to score that goal unless Tommy Rogic has the vision to put you through. So it’s not about one player being a key. That’s what we’re trying to create. On any given day we have multiple goal threats. If you look at our goals this year they’ve come from just about everywhere. We’re not relying on one person or two people to do that. Jota is playing his part in that.”
I don’t know about you, but this is exactly what I want to hear from a Celtic manager. It would have been easy for Postecoglou to butter up Jota or resort to a soundbite. Instead, he makes it clear what he expects of all his players and what his vision of the team is moving forward.
Every answer we get from him in these press conferences is sincere and detailed. The information we get from the manager is fantastic and revealing, without being naive. He knows exactly how to deal with these questions.
This Celtic team, of multiple attacking threats, can now go from strength to strength over the next few weeks and really set us up for a successful season.
In other news, Ange Postecoglou on his recent sit down with Michael Nicholson and what it means for Celtic.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
