Chris Sutton reckons that the demands of Ange Postecoglou in the wake of Celtic’s defeat to Sydney FC and the Scotland vs England factor will give the Bhoys plenty of motivation going into the Sydney Super Cup clash against Everton.
Postecoglou was notably not happy with his team in the wake of Thursday’s defeat to Sydney FC, stating they were nowhere near the levels required and refusing to let them off with the excuse of tiredness or jet lag.
Sutton believes the Celtic boss was spot on with his assessment. In his Daily Record column today, he laid out a case for the Bhoys to put in the hard work to take care of the Toffees.
The former Bhoys striker said: “The message from the manager was loud and clear. If you don’t produce the goods, you won’t be part of his plans. Postecoglou will demand a reaction against Everton in the early hours of Sunday morning.
“The players should too. I know we used to really enjoy coming up against English teams in these kinds of games. Let’s be honest, we know they look down on the Scottish game, and we knew it back then as well. We saw it as a chance to stick two fingers up at them for once. I took great delight in those regular encounters against the likes of QPR and Fulham when we’d wipe the floor with them.
“Listen, everyone knows these matches don’t really matter a jot in the grand scheme of things. If Celtic go on and retain the title, there won’t be a single fan talking about a D-list team going down to the A-League outfit. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be taken seriously at the time. Especially when there’s the Scotland v England factor involved.
“Postecoglou gets the fact he’s also got a duty to the supporters. I used to actually quite enjoy the long haul trips, and we did America a few times. You get a sense of just how global the club really is as the fans come out in big numbers from all over the place. You owe them a decent display.”
We know Postecoglou always demands the highest standards of his players. Even in a scenario such as this. I don’t think there will be any Celtic players coasting in Sydney in this one, despite the lacklustre display mid-week.
You wouldn’t want to face the Bhoys boss in the aftermath of losing two matches on his much-hyped return to Australia. For several of these players it’s also about individual statements of intent too.
Obviously no Celtic fan is going to be too angry with the wrong result, but we want to see progress from this group at all times and if we can head home to Scotland with a victory over a Premier League side, it’d just add to the good feeling around the club right now.
In other news, “Celtic are a very good team”; Everton man delivers Bhoys verdict.
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