Ange Postecoglou made it clear what he expected from his Celtic players at the end of last season as he made a big promise to the supporters.
Indeed, nobody will allow the Hoops boss to forget when he roared out the statement that his team will be “bigger and better” in 2022/23 [Daily Record]. This coming after a double-winning season in which the league championship was brought back to Parkhead whilst we qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stages.
The theme of Ange’s Celtic has been constant evolution. That idea that the team is never truly the finished article. That there are always improvements to be made and that we’ll constantly strive to reach them.
Celtic supporters have already been given a slight view into what this evolution looks like. The club has moved quickly to bring in Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers permanently whilst bolstering their goalkeeping and left-back ranks.
That’s the evolution Ange is talking about. Having better strength in depth in all positions and ensuring he can rotate the squad without much of a drop in quality if any.
That’s the bigger and better Celtic he’s looking to implement. A Celtic that can deal with injury blows and suspensions whilst still swapping the opposition away.
Celtic looking to take the first step of their evolution today
This afternoon, Celtic will take part in their first pre-season friendly contest against Wiener Viktoria in Austria. The long close-season is now over and now we’re left absolutely buzzing to see our heroes in action once again.
But don’t expect this to be the “bigger and better” Celtic Ange promised back in May. We’re still some way from being at that level yet. These games are all about preparing ourselves and getting ourselves to that stage.
The manager still has dome deals to do in the transfer window first and foremost. He still has to implement his style further and evolve this team technically and tactically as the season progresses.
Today is simply step 1 en route to that. The first game in which Ange gets to take a look at his new signings and a chance for them to get to know their teammates. But even so, the excitement levels are still rightly there.
There’s something about the confidence and expectation surrounding Celtic at the moment. There’s a belief that they won’t take long to get into their stride and that these pre-season games should see some good performances come quickly.
We’ll see how brightly we can shine against Viktoria this afternoon. But today marks the first real stepping stone towards the “bigger and better” Celtic Ange is confident in providing.
In other news, “He really enjoyed it”; Timo Weah spoke to Celtic player about Hoops experience
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