Stan Petrov is a Celtic legend. Signed by John Barnes, the midfielder flourished under the most successful manager since Jock Stein, Martin O’Neill. So when he talks about the club, the fans sit up and take notice.
And what he said about Ange Postecgolou’s Celtic certainly put a smile across my face. Petrov was being interviewed by BBC reporter Kheredine Idessane when he was asked if there are any similarities between the Martin O’Neill team he played in compared to the Ange Postecoglou side he sees now.
Petrov said, “Psychologically, yes. And it comes from the manager. It comes from the manager.
“We, as players, we follow the manager. We try to find the solution on the pitch but it’s what the manager brings every day.
“The training ground, out on the pitch on the field, off the field. And he has the same message. And the same message is, ‘We fight’, ‘We don’t stop’, we play high-intensity football.
“And the players just inherited good habits by fighting, by not giving up and making sure they stay in the game. Even when they don’t play well.
“Psychologically, it’s very powerful thing. And we can see that at the moment.
“The teams around Scotland fear Celtic. They fear Celtic because they know that they’ve got a strong group of players who are ready to fight and follow the manager.
“That’s what they have shown at this moment. They’re showing a great ability to fight and win games even when they don’t play well.” [BBC Scottish Football Podcast]
Celtic are only going to get better. That’s the scary part
To a certain extent, I agree with Stan. Teams do fear Celtic. The way they set up and try to stifle our attacking intent is proof of that.
But the thing is, we are only going to get better. As Ange prepares us for next season there is no doubt he will have an eye on a couple of players that will help improve the first-team squad.
And when you look at what we already have on the bench in Tomoki Iwata and Yuki Kobayashi, early indications are that both these guys can come in and improve the team in their own way.
If teams in Scotland fear us now, I dread to think how they’ll feel when Ange Postecoglou strengthens in the summer.
In other news, Matt O’Riley reveals SFA referees comments after Jota’s goal v Rangers
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