Chris Sutton played in some mentally robust Celtic sides, the type that snatched late wins in Scotland and in Europe.
Under Martin O’Neill, Sutton and co were a dogged, determined unit. And while Postecoglou’s side aren’t quite there yet, Sutton is enthused by the mental strength of this current iteration of Celtic.
The Hoops have had to be strong to see out games of late. Against Ross County, Anthony Ralston’s late winner had us all ecstatic. Since the turn of the year, wins against Hearts and Alloa Athletic have been punctuated by spells under pressure, which the Hoops have managed to see out.
It’s encouraging, and while you sense that a fitter, fuller Celtic squad can see games out more comfortably, what Sutton is seeing, he’s enthused by.
In his Daily Record column, Sutton said [Record]: “The win the other night was massive.
“Celtic still have a tendency to run out of legs towards the end of games the way they play and it can leave them hanging on a touch. But that will change when everyone is fit and there is more competition for places as there will be stronger options from the bench.
“It’s just a case of being a bit more ruthless in putting games to bed but there’s a sense someone is going to be on the end of a doing at some point.
“But it said a lot about the character of the team to withstand the pressure in the capital and get the result.
“Celtic were down to the bare bones, with top performers missing and others thrown in at the deep end. They managed to dig out a victory and it shows how far they’ve come from the last visit to Tynecastle when they went under on the opening day of the season.”
Chris Sutton points to mental strength of Celtic under Postecoglou
Again, Chris Sutton has made an astute point here. There have been negative reactions to Celtic’s second-half performances, and with good reason. Alloa shouldn’t have made our lives so uncomfortable. We could and should’ve seen Hearts off earlier.
In fact, the other night, the Jambos could’ve snatched a draw.
But that’s all could’ve, should’ve, would’ve. The fact remains that Celtic won both games. And, in general, Celtic have made a habit of winning under Postecoglou.
The mental strength required to go to hostile environments and keep composure late on is significant. We saw last season how much mentality effects performances; lack of crowds, public declarations of disloyalty from the manager and the like will sap at morale.
This Celtic team, though, seems like a cohesive unit. A bunch of guys going to war for each other. Sutton’s right, eventually a team will get an absolute doing (hopefully today). But in the meantime, if we’re winning these matches, nobody will remember whether it was rough against Hearts provided we win silverware.
It’s a results business, and Celtic are getting results.
Chris Sutton, from his initial skepticism over Ange Postecoglou, has become a fully-fledged member of the Ange fan club. It’s good to see. If you can get someone as difficult to please as big Chris on your side, you’re doing plenty right.
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