Following on from Celtic’s European exit on Tuesday, Ange Postecoglou has been talking up how Celtic must learn from their experience this season.
The Bhoys marked their return to the UEFA Champions League for the first time in five years. But, it ultimately ended in disappointment, having picked up two points in five games.
Although the Hoops’ outings against Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk have been frustrating in terms of results, there has been plenty to learn from their performances.
And speaking in the aftermath of Tuesday’s 1-1 draw against the Ukrainian side, Postecoglou reflected on how Celtic’s fortunes can change going forward.
The 57-year-old was keen to insist that the club’s development at this level won’t take place overnight as we look to become a more consistent side at the top level.
If we are looking for examples of exactly how to achieve that goal, that aren’t many better than last night’s opponents, Shakhtar Donetsk.
Shakhtar provide Celtic with an ideal blueprint of how to become a more consistent Champions League side.
Over the last few years, it is fair to say that Celtic’s involvement in European competition has been somewhat disappointing.
As mentioned, we have witnessed a five-year absence from the Champions League, suffering some extremely poor results in our attempts to qualify.
However, during that time, Shakhtar Donetsk have qualified for the group stages of the competition on each occasion, regularly facing top European opposition.
Not only have they been consistently qualifying for the tournament in the last five years, but they have been doing so for over a decade.
In the last 12 seasons, Shakhtar has qualified 11 times, reaching the last 16 or quarter-finals stage on four of those occasions [UEFA].
Whilst they have regularly taken on the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester City, they have slowly established themselves as a mainstay in the group stages of his competition.
And they aren’t only part of Europe just to participate, at least finishing in third placed or above within their group on nine occasions.
That is precisely where Celtic want to be as a team, and Ange Postecoglou’s comments last night, suggest he is extremely keen to take us to that sort of level.
Although we don’t have the finances to compete with Europe’s elite clubs, by consistently being involved in this competition, we can learn from our experiences and become a more consistent Champions League side.
Of course, it might take some time, and Postecoglou is well aware of that. So, it is crucially important that we take the next steps towards that development by returning to the group stages next season.
We have seen firsthand how we can challenge and compete against a quality European side in Shakhtar Donetsk. Now, it is time to try and follow in their footsteps by creating our own modern legacy as a consistent Champions League-level club.
In other news, The imperative strides Celtic must now take in Europe under Ange Postecoglou.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
