The Celtic 'tiring' myth

By Lewis Laird

May 9, 2022

Ange Postecoglou has produced an incredible turnaround at Celtic.

After losing out on the Premiership title last season by 25 points, and the squad having to undergo a rebuild, not many would have foreseen such a successful season.

However, in just 12 months, that is exactly what the 56-year old has done in several different ways within the club.

Despite such a successful turnaround, there have still been a number of questions asked about the Celtic manager and his players.

That includes questioning his side’s fitness throughout this season, with some stating that his squad tire after a certain point in each game.

However, that point is a myth.

Celtic Twitter account Celticbynumbers produced a brilliant stat over the weekend, showcasing why this is the case and also how impressive the Celtic back five has been this season.

Across the 36 league matches so far this season, Ange Postecoglou’s side has only conceded one goal in the last 20 minutes of a game.

That goal came all the way back at the beginning of the season, in Hearts’ 2-1 victory at Tynecastle.

Despite so much being made of the Celtic defence and how Ange Postecoglou’s side ‘drop off’, this is an incredible stat showing why that isn’t true.

Impressively, the Hoops have conceded just 21 goals in the league this season, which has contributed to a significantly larger goal difference over rivals Rangers.

The backline has also set up the foundations for how Ange wants his side to play.

With the Celtic boss hinting that there is still even more to come from his team, that is a scary prospect for the opposition sides in the Scotland Premiership.

Much of this squad, and defensive backline haven’t even had a full pre-season under their belt with Postecoglou yet, and that isn’t even factoring in potential upgrades which the 56-year old might choose to make in the summer.

Let’s see if pundits are still making the same point when the league title is lifted later this week or into next season.

In other news, Australian club’s class Celtic gesture.