Media's ridiculous pre-season Celtic predictions have begun; Postecoglou will be loving it

By David Walton

July 25, 2021

It hasn’t taken long for the ridiculous pre-season Celtic predictions to come flooding in from the Scottish media.

Celtic are undergoing a rebuild under Ange Postecoglou. However, the demand and pressure will be there for the club to remain competitive this season and at the very least be title challengers.

The Hoops have shown mixed signals in pre-season regarding what to expect. Going forward, Celtic have looked inventive with Ryan Christie, Liel Abada, and Odsonne Edouard all combining well.

However, a lack of additions at the back have led to Stephen Welsh and Dane Murray being thrown together in Europe. Due to our shortages, we’ve had some poor results in our last three matches.

And, as expected, sections of the media are going way over the top. Today, we were greeted by Hugh Keevins claiming that Rangers could win the league by more than 25 points [Daily Record].

Why? Because Celtic, Aberdeen, and Hibs all failed to beat them last season. A totally mind-boggling assumption that is set up to go absolutely disastrously.

But Keevins isn’t the only one. Last week it was Keith Jackson who claimed that Celtic were a “car crash waiting to happen” this season [Daily Record].

The bizarre reasoning for this was due to the number of wantaways currently at the club. Since then, Celtic have gotten rid of Kristoffer Ajer and Marian Shved, whilst Olivier Ntcham isn’t a part of the first-team for now.

In addition to that, Celtic have added to their centre-back options with Carl Starfelt, whilst Liel Abada looks to be a potential solution to our long-term right-wing issue.

Ange Postecoglou will be loving over-the-top Celtic predictions

Even when Celtic make positive steps in the market, we’re still being hit with waves of negativity. Not that Postecoglou will be too irked of course. In fact, the new Celtic boss absolutely loves being written off and he’s made that clear in the past.

During his Yokohama F.Marinos days, he stated he loved the moments when his methods and ability was doubted. Indeed, he enjoyed that more than being deemed a favourite.

As quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald, Ange said back in 2019: “I don’t enjoy this bit. I enjoyed last year, when everyone was kind of doubting me and not really sure about where we’re heading.”

So he’ll be absolutely loving how plenty senior figures in the media already appear to be writing him off. It’s the biggest challenge of his career, and this pessimism will surely be whetting his appetite.

Yes, there are glaring holes in the Celtic squad still. We urgently need a right-back or two, whilst another centre-back would also be ideal. The same goes for a left-back, whilst Mohamed Elyounoussi has yet to be replaced on the left flank.

But Celtic appear to be getting there. Yes it’s frustrating that it hasn’t been sorted out for the beginning of our Euro qualifiers. But it looks as though we’ll have a strong XI out for the Premiership opener against Hearts on Saturday.

There’s no need for the mass panic or doomsday scenarios that’s been pictured by the media. Come the end of the window when we have most of our priority signings sorted, this will all look way over the top.

Again, not that Ange will be complaining. This should be right up his street. The more the likes of Keevins and co write him off, the more fuel it seems to add to his determination.

In other news: John Hartson calls out Celtic for Ryan Christie contract turmoil