"That's our baseline"; Ange Postecoglou assures Celtic fans they haven't seen anything yet

By John McGinley

September 17, 2021

Ange Postecoglou remains bullish about the progress of Celtic despite falling to a defeat in the opening Europa League group stage match.

The Bhoys went toe-to-toe with Real Betis in Seville last night, but ultimately lost out 4-3 after a rollercoaster occasion.

There were plenty of promising signs for Celtic though and the team will be taking confidence into the rest of the group stage.

After the match, Postecoglou insisted what we witnessed was Celtic’s baseline. He reckons that the team are nowhere near their full potential.

As quoted by The Scottish Daily Mail [17/09 print edition, page 89], he said: “Don’t get me wrong, I’m disappointed we didn’t win tonight and I’m disappointed the players didn’t get their rewards.

“But it doesn’t deter my bullishness about where we’re heading. We’re just going to get stronger, there’s no doubt about that. Tonight, that’s our baseline against a very good opponent.”

Meanwhile, he told the official website: “Our players hung in there right till the very end, and I thought it was a good game. I can’t ask for any more of the players. The football we played was exactly like the team we want to be.”

 “I don’t think there was too much between the teams. If people think there’s a massive difference, I think they might have been watching a different game.”

This is strong stuff. There’s absolutely no wavering from Postecoglou here. And that’s what you want in a leader who believes in the overall mission.

You can tell the players will buy into this too.

It would be easy to criticise individual errors or focus on a negative. Postecoglou isn’t interested in all that though, at least in public.

He reckons this is as bad as Celtic will ever be at this level. The only way is up.

That’s not to say he won’t be examining issues behind the scenes. I’m the sure the squad have gone over both the good and bad from last night’s performance.

But we’re moving forward with purpose despite another European away defeat.

Let’s bounce back with a much-needed win away to Livingston on Sunday.

In other news, Celtic appoint new Company Secretary.