Ange Postecoglou has again reinforced there will be no change in approach from his Celtic side despite the threat of Livingston throwing up some unique challenges this weekend.
As we know, Livingston can be a very physical and combative side playing on a particularly difficult artificial pitch at their home ground. It’s often a battle for any team, never mind the Bhoys.
One of our rare league defeats last season came there, although Celtic did rebound to win a fixture later in the season despite a run of poor results in West Lothian.
When prodded if he needs to dish out additional instructions beyond the consistent message he portrays in the press, Postecoglou let a reporter in today’s media conference know he isn’t just saying things for the sake of it.
He said [Celtic YouTube]: “No mate I don’t lie to you, I don’t lie to the players. What I say is what I say. We’ve got to play our football because within our football all those things are there, you know.
“Whatever the challenge is, we’re not going to overcome it by changing our approach. That’s not going to work for us. What works for us, we have some basic fundamentals that we want to lean on – working hard, trying to dominate the game in possession and being really aggressive without the ball.
“When we do those things, irrespective of the opposition home or away, we’re a tough team to beat. That’s what we’ve got to deliver on the weekend.”
Postecoglou’s system is very unlikely to change at this point. Most supporters have come to terms with that, even if it continues to be something of a media narrative from time to time.
That’s not to say the team can’t tweak things or that specific types of players don’t offer something different from their teammates in the roles given to them.
Postecoglou has spoken about that before, about how his players naturally change the team tactically based on who they are rather than what they are asked to do.
In that context it will be interesting to see what Sunday’s starting eleven throws up, whether it’s a more physical striking presence in Giorgos Giakoumakis, a ball-carrier on the wing in Sead Haksabanovic or a different, throttling approach with selections of the rapid Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi.
In other news, £2.4m on the line for Celtic in Madrid as Bhoys scoop up £1.6m UEFA bonus.
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