The potential worry for Celtic fans that Postecoglou only sees as a positive

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As a former Australia manager, you’re unlikely to see Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou decrying international football.

And that was very much the case today. Sadly – from a club perspective – we’re about to embark on what feels like the 100th international break of the season. From a fan’s perspective, much as it’s exciting to see Celtic players representing their countries, there’s an obvious drawback.

With so much on the line in the last months of the season, the last thing Celtic need is any of our international players being over-worked, or picking up injuries. Ange Postecoglou, though, has no huge concerns, and he only sees it as a positive.

In his press conference earlier today, Postecoglou said [Celtic FC]: “A lot of our guys are still sort of young and in the infancy of their international careers.

“Every time they challenge themselves in that international arena, playing and training with different players, I only see it as a positive. The drawback for us is a lot of our players have to travel a fair way. That’s the one you’re more conscious of rather than being worried about injuries too much. They get good recovery when they get back into club mode.

“I only see it as a positive. I know other managers have a different perspective on it.”

Celtic players getting international minutes is a good thing; Ange Postecoglou is right

How do players improve? They play alongside the best, against the best, or both.

It wouldn’t be unfair to say that players like Callum McGregor are better for their international experience. Having had an impressive Euro 2020 with Scotland, he brought that energy back for new challenges at Celtic.

Yes, travel can be taxing on the body. But as Ange says, Celtic have the facilities to help with recovery, and the impact of plane journeys on players is surely overstated. Daizen Maeda and Tom Rogic, in particular, have proven that.

It’s easy to follow a narrative about how dangerous international football can be. How it’s unnecessary, even. Concerns about injuries are justified, we’ve seen that play out this season with Kyogo.

Ultimately, though, players can get injured anywhere. From a development perspective though, it’s crucial for the players. From a more cynical but no less important view, it’s also integral for the transfer value of players, moving forward.

Consistently, Ange Postecoglou has acted as a voice of reason since coming to Celtic. On this issue, he’s done the exact same.

There’s no need to panic. Let’s try and see it how he sees it when the Celtic internationals head out to their respective countries: as a positive.

Read more: Why the Scottish Premiership should be worried about Celtic right now