Celtic are set to go head-to-head with Heart of Midlothian at Celtic Park later on tonight, with a 7.45pm kick-off pencilled in the diary for our cinch Premiership League match. The Bhoys are on a run of really great form going into this one, and Hearts will also have ideas about causing the Scottish Premiership Champions too.
Celtic are fresh off the back of winning their first trophy of the season and coming from behind in Paisley last weekend to really showcase their never-say-die attitude and ability to overcome obstacles with each passing week of football. Hearts meanwhile, will be aiming to try and get something from this game after having missed out to Celtic earlier in the season, whilst also being humbled by the newest Ibrox outfit too.
For some unknown reason, the side from Gorgie always seem to manage to raise their game whenever they play the Bhoys, and it will be no different this evening under those wonderful Paradise lights. Ange Postecoglou has been speaking before the game to the mainstream media and reckons that Robbie Neilson’s side will pose a real test of the reigning champions character. “It’s one of the quirks of Scottish football that (double-headers) happen more often than it does in other leagues”, the manager said.
“We had it with Kilmarnock in the league and League Cup semi-final back-to-back. We treat every challenge separately because if you fall into the trap of lumping these two games together then I don’t think that works. We know league games are different to cup games and playing at home is different to playing away, particularly at Tynecastle.
“So even though we’re playing the same opposition we’re preparing for two different games but our focus is on this first game. It will be a good challenge against a good side and since I’ve been here they’ve been consistently in third position. They’ve had European football which has helped their players in terms of growth. They have a stronger squad this year and with all of that, we know it will be a good contest for us. But our form has been consistent and we want to continue that.”
Since the Greek-Aussie’s entry to the club back in the summer of 2021, the Hoops have managed to rattle in 250 goals in just 99 games so far, with Postecoglou set to become a Celtic Centurion tonight in his own right. It’s a milestone for the man who led Austalia to an Asian Cup back in 2015, and he revealed that those outrageous statistics are just a by-product of the team he wants Celtic to be out on the park. He added: “The goals are important, aside from the statistical element of it, it’s the kind of team we want to be.
“We want to be one that plays aggressive football and that scores a lot of goals. It’s not easy to do and not just from the point of view of the dominance you have but in terms of the mindset. The weekend’s game is a good example where we are 3-1 up against 10 men and we could have seen the game out but there’s a strong desire within the group. That’s driven by competitiveness and guys coming on and wanting to score goals and play their part and that’s helped us score more goals.”
Watch the boss’ full media conference below…
Paul Gillespie
