Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has insisted the only way that his side will learn from their Champions League disappointment is by continuing to perform at this level.
This campaign, the 57-year-old led his side into Group F after securing automatic qualification due to winning the 2021/22 Scottish Premiership title.
It also marked the Bhoys’ long-awaited return to the competition, ending a five-year absence since our last involvement in 2017.
There were positive signs from Ange Postecoglou and his players, who took the game to Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk.
However, it ultimately ended in disappointment as the Hoops crashed out of Europe, finishing bottom of the group with one game to spare.
Following on from the 1-1 draw with the Ukrainian side on Tuesday evening, Ange Postecoglou has been assessing his side’s performance in this season’s Champions League and how they can improve.
The Celtic boss insisted that the only way that they will continue to learn and develop is by playing at this level more regularly after their long absence from Champions League group-stage football.
He said [Daily Record]: “It’s just experience and continuing to play at this level. That’s all it is. There’s no magic formula. It’s just experience and continually striving to improve. The boys are in there disappointed, they’re flat, and that shows where our ambitions lay.
“We want to make an impact in this competition, but it’s our first time in five years, and we’ve fallen short. These areas we’ve fallen short in, we need to improve. It’s not anything that can happen very quickly. We want to be a Champions League football club, and that only happens with continual presence in this competition.
“I said before there hasn’t been a game we haven’t been competitive in. That’s where you measure it. If we’d been outplayed in every game, it would be easier to say we need to do a lot of work, but in every game, we’ve been in it, and moments have cost us.
“We have to be in this competition every year if we really want to make an impact. You can’t go five years without being in it and then come in and expect to make an impact at this level. That’s our challenge, that’s what I mean about becoming a Champions League football club. We need to be there every year.”
UCL consistency key for Celtic as Ange Postecoglou talks up experience of his first campaign.
As mentioned, although the Bhoys are yet to pick up three points in this group, there have been spells in each game they have been on top.
Which just goes to show how they can compete with some top European sides. However, the quality and experience of the opposition came through in the end.
That will come for Ange Postecoglou and his players with time. This season will prove to be a massive learning curve for the dressing room.
Of course, that shouldn’t be an excuse for the disappointment and frustration over the five games. But, it is certainly an experience we must use and come back stronger from going forward.
Now, our focus switches to domestic action as we look to secure more trophy success under the former Socceroos boss.
Lifting the Scottish Premiership title is vitally important once again if we want to keep competing at this level.
In other news, Chris Sutton’s instant verdict as Celtic are knocked out of Europe.
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