Ange Postecoglou knows better than anyone it’d be very silly for Celtic to be thinking about the upcoming derby against Rangers so early in the week, with points on the line against Hibs first.
Celtic have won all but one match in the Scottish Premiership so far this season, amassing an impressive 51 points from 54 available.
That consistency has, in large part, been due to the discipline of focusing on one game at a time, rather than being caught up in grand narratives.
In a derby week, outside noise inevitably ramps up but when asked about the derby this week, Postecoglou was insistent the trip to Ibrox isn’t on anyone’s mind yet.
As quoted by The Scottish Daily Mail [27/12 print edition, page 60], he said: “You can’t because, if you don’t have the right performance and result against Hibs, then what does it matter what the game after is?
“You are going to be disappointed, so, like I said last week, our focus is on what is next. What is next for us is to get ready for a tough game in Edinburgh against a good opponent and make sure that we continue our good form.”
Postecoglou had some praise for Lee Johnson’s side in the build-up to the Easter Road test too, suggesting they look particularly dangerous with the return of Kevin Nisbet.
The Celtic boss continued: “We played there last season, it was a draw and it was a tough game for us. It’ll be the same. You can see what Lee Johnson is trying to do. He is trying to get the team to play a certain way and he probably doesn’t have the personnel at the moment that needs to do that. But he’s sticking to it and, with a couple of more windows, I think you’ll see more what he is trying to do.
“They definitely have some attacking threats, especially with Kevin Nisbet back. If we keep playing our football, keep improving, be as strong as we can, we know we are tough to beat.”
A morale-boosting win over Livingston at the weekend sets Hibs up well for this one. They proved at Ibrox last week they can carry attacking threat if given the space, so Postecoglou is spot on with his assessment.
It’s up to Celtic to turn up as motivated for this one as any other fixture and set the intensity levels from the off to pins them into their own half. If we can do that, we should be able to improve that draw that came on our last visit.
In other news, “He’s knocking on Gavin Strachan’s door every day”; Ange Postecoglou’s brilliant praise for Celtic hero.
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