Ange Postecoglou has been in the game long enough to recognise the stark reality of the situation that he now faces at Celtic. The supporters have given the Australian own complete backing so far – he can have absolutely no complaints about that – but that trust must now be rewarded and the away form that Celtic have had this year is shaping up to the the worst in living memory.
Celtic away form in 2021, going from yesterday back to the start of this year reads like this…
Livingston v Celtic – Ange Postecoglou. Photo Andrew Milligan
Season 2021/22 Manager Ange Postecoglou
DEFEAT – Livingston 1-0 Celtic
DEFEAT – Real Betis 4-3 Celtic
DEFEAT – theRangers 1-0 Celtic
DEFEAT – AZ Alkmaar 2-1 Celtic
WIN – Jablonec 2-4 Celtic
DEFEAT – Hearts 2-1 Celtic
DEFEAT – Midtjylland 2-1 Celtic
Photo: Stephen Dobson
Season 2020/2021 Interim Manager John Kennedy
DRAW – Hibs 0-0 Celtic
DEFEAT – theRangers 4-1 Celtic
DRAW – Aberdeen 1-1 Celtic
DEFEAT – theRangers 2-0 Celtic
DRAW – Dundee Utd 0-0 Celtic
Photo: Jeff Holmes
Season 2020/2021 Manager Neil Lennon…
DEFEAT – Ross County 1-0 Celtic
WIN – St Johnstone 1-2 Celtic
WIN – St Mirren 0-4 Celtic
WIN – Kilmarnock 0-4 Celtic
DRAW – Livingston 2-2 Celtic
DEFEAT – theRangers 1-0 Celtic
Total – Played 18 Won 4 Drawn 4 Lost 10 – as we said yesterday THIS IS CELTIC, FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE!
Here’s Ange Postecoglou’s post-match comments after the latest defeat at Livingston. “Our football was ok, we created some chances but our decisions in the final third were really poor, probably the poorest they’ve been all year,” he told the media, as reported by Scottish Sun. “We’ve had some issues defensively but I thought in the front half we were terrible.
“That was everybody, not just the strikers or the attacking players. We lacked a real conviction in going forward to be positive. That falls on me to get it right.
Livingston v Celtic – Stephen Welsh right heads towards goal. Photo Andrew Milligan
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“We started the game very sterile and didn’t really take the game to them. We wanted to ease our way into the game and when they scored we were chasing the game.
“We paid the price for not applying ourselves as we should. ’m not big on learning curves. I don’t think we learned anything we didn’t know before the game.
“My responsibility, and it is my responsibility, lies in making sure the team is prepared well irrespective of the opponent. It’s just a disappointing day for all of us, and it’s my responsibility to make sure that moving forward we don’t allow these sort of situations to happen again.
“It’s not the away form, it’s the results. Our performances have been good,” the Celtic manager concluded.
