Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes has praised Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou ahead of tomorrow’s match in Ayrshire, stating he likes “the cut of his jib”.
McInnes is facing the Bhoys for the first time since he left his post as Aberdeen boss 18 months ago. In honesty, has never felt like the most gracious opponent before and after matches against us.
And that’s not necessarily a criticism. He sticks up for his teams and looks for an edge in his media comments, that’s just how he is. It’s hardly a surprise he doesn’t dovetail well with Celtic supporters.
Nonetheless, he’s going into his first meeting with Postecoglou with admiration after watching the work he’s done in Scotland over the last 12 months. The pair have never conversed, but McInnes has said texts have been exchanged.
Speaking this weekend ahead of the match, the Kilmarnock boss told The Scottish Daily Mail [13/08 print edition, page 117]: “I’ve never met him, it’s just been a couple of texts back and forth. But like everyone else, there is a high regard with how he conducts himself.
“I liked the cut of his jib from the start and how he was. He is someone who has been good for Celtic and Celtic looks good for him at this stage.
“Celtic will dominate the ball for long spells and we have to be happy out of possession. At the same time we don’t want the game to be stretched because Celtic have players who can exploit the extra space.”
Later, on BBC Radio Scotland [17:20], he continued with his positive Bhoys assessment, stating: “They’ve accumulated a squad, in the last year or so, I think they’ve got a lot of players at the right age, they are developing and you can see the improvement in them. And I think they’ve got the manager that can get that improvement in them and they are a side who I think are going the right way.
“You cannot kid players on, the players know the strength of Celtic, they know the capabilities of the Celtic players. What we’ve got to do is take strength from our work, our preparation throughout the week, trying to drag big performances out of individual players, I think substitutions will be important as well. It’s really trying to reach a level of performance that gives us a chance.”
Postecoglou has never really clashed with any managers since arriving in Scotland and, tomorrow, I’m sure there’ll be more mutual respect on the touchline.
We’re all biased as Celtic supporters of course, but it really is hard to find fault with much of the sense spoken by Ange, and he always carries himself with class.
As for the football, well, we know how a McInnes team plays and what they’ll do to try and frustrate the Bhoys. It’s on Celtic to find a way past that and excel regardless.
It’s a big day and the countdown is on to kick-off!
In other news, Former Celtic kid bounces back from release to sign for English Premier League side.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
