Ange Postecoglou spoke to Celtic TV after the Norwich City game today and was please at both the result and the manner in which it was achieved. Celtic played Blackburn Rovers last weekend at home and let the Championship outift survive the game with some questionable defending at the time. Likewise, Legia Warsaw in midweek saw us sail into a two goal cushion, only for us to fling it away with nothing errors.
This afternoon we saw a considerable difference in the way in which we approached the full game. The second half was much the same as the first and maybe that could be put down to more of his regular starters staying on the pitch for a longer period of time. Nevertheless, we controlled the game and didn’t let Dean Smith’s side find an avenue back into contention at any point from the first to last. “It was good, and I think the victory is important as well. I thought it was a real solid run-out.
“For the most part we controlled the game, our possession was good and we worked hard defensively to deny them too much. And it was good to see after the substitutions we didn’t have too much of a drop-off and the boys stuck to their task. Reo’s been good, but for all our players, they’ve enjoyed the fact that they had a pre-season with us,” Ange Postecoglou said.
The manager was determined to not single out any one player for specific praise, signalling the fact that they all done well last year but that the whole squad can be even better than the last campaign. He added: “I keep saying that we threw a lot of these guys in last year and they did super well for us, and my belief is that they can be a lot better.
“That’s why we were really keen to retain the players we had last year and built on that, and Reo is one of them. But there are quite a few guys who will have enjoyed having a pre-season together as a group, working hard and being ready for the season.It’ll just be another solid week of work on the training pitch. We’ve got a good eight days because the game’s on Sunday, so the boys will have a good block of work.
“We’ll work on our game, work on our physical stuff and, like I said, we’ve had a decent pre-season campaign and in that, every game has been fairly competitive for us, which has been important. And for the most part, we’ve got through it unscathed, in terms of injuries or any setbacks, so we’re in a pretty good place.”
We almost certainly saw a different attitude today within the ranks as we tick down the countdown clock to Flag Day against Jim Goodwin and his Aberdeen side. The sloppy errors seemed to evaporate into thin air and we looked far more focused, aware and complete as a team. Sure, there weren’t as many changes as early on, but that is part for the course at this stage in the game. It’s all about fine tuning now.
One week to go now folks!
Watch Ange’s reaction to the match against Norwich City:
Paul Gillespie
READ THIS…Celtic 2-0 Norwich City – Watch the Goals plus all post match reaction from both clubs
David Potter’s new book, Willie Fernie – Putting on the Style is out now, and you can order from Celtic Star Books – link below – or pick up a copy from the official Celtic Stores…
