There has been a key theme across all four of our UEFA Champions League group-stage matches, and that has been our lack of clinical edge.
Looking at the current stage of Group F, Celtic currently sit at the bottom on one point, whilst our three opponents have stretched away, with the closest competitor, Shakhar Donetsk, sitting on five points.
Although that may paint a picture for other football supporters on the outside looking in, it is not the position that Celtic deserve to be sitting in.
Now, of course, there is no getting away from the fact that we would much rather be sitting in the position of either Shakhtar or RB Leipzig, who are looking likely to advance to the next stage of European competition.
It is easy to sit here and say we deserve more when in fact, the reason we sit in this position is due to our own downfall of not being clinical enough in front of goal.
However, if we once again look to the bigger picture, this Celtic squad will have picked up extremely valuable experience from their first outings.
And despite all of our frustrations, it is more important than ever to trust Ange Postecoglou’s process at Celtic.
‘Trust the process’ is the message as we look to learn from our first Champions League exploits.
At this point, I am sure the majority of Celtic supporters will have heard this phrase. It was an extremely important one at the beginning of Ange Postecoglou’s reign as we prepared to undergo a drastic rebuild.
And despite our tricky start last campaign, it ultimately led to success for Ange Postecoglou’s squad, who continued to improve as the season went on.
Although we are well past that rebuilding stage, this season, we have entered a new phase of the 57-year-old’s era as Celtic manager.
For Postecoglou, and large chunks of this Hoops squad, this season’s UEFA Champions League campaign was their very first, and as mentioned, there has been a fair share of frustration across the four games.
However, despite that frustration, there has also been plenty of positives, and the Bhoys have already shown they can compete home and away against some top European sides.
It may look unlikely the Hoops will advance to the knockout stages this season. But, going forward, that could be for the greater good.
The Bhoys will be looking to qualify for this competition once again next season, and having already experienced playing at this level, they will come back even stronger.
And you can see from Ange Postecoglou’s comments that he doesn’t believe his team are far off being at a level where they can compete with these top European sides; their performances have shown that.
We just aren’t quite at that level yet. But, with time, I believe we can get there under Ange.
By suffering frustration and disappointment at this stage in time, it will allow us to develop and improve before the squad comes back even stronger next season.
It is all about trusting Ange Postecoglou and the process/journey he is taking this squad on.
Not only will his players learn from this tough spell, but I am sure the former Socceroos boss will also be learning and adapting himself.
In football, there are never any guarantees, and Postecoglou will need to continue making sure his squad are up to scratch in order to qualify for the competition next campaign.
If we are able to do exactly that, in my opinion, by trusting Ange Postecoglou’s process at Celtic, we will be much better off and competing in the group stages of this competition next season, as has been shown by the performances against our Group F opponents in 2022.
So, it is crucial we stick by the manager and his players as they enter the next phase of Postecoglou’s rebuilding job at Parkhead.
Some pundits within the Scottish media may have questioned the ex-Yokohama F Marino’s manager’s tactics before. But it is clear to see that they can work, no matter the opposition.
It cannot be understated how important the support of the Parkhead faithful is in continuing our improvements in the Champions League by sticking by those involved at the club.
It is now more important than ever that the Celtic support ‘trusts the process’ as Ange looks to take the club to the next level.
In other news, “We’re all hurting” – Celtic star sends defiant European message.
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