Keeping cool in the Arctic Circle shouldn’t be too difficult a task for Celtic this evening, however for Ange Postecoglou it’s cool minds rather than freezing extremities he’s after, as he drives home the message of believing in the footballing process he is instilling at Celtic and has served the Hoops incredibly well this season so far.
As reported in Daily Record, Ange has witnessed how the human condition can waver under stress and he picked up on that anxiety in the weekend’s win against Dundee, as Celtic’s patience in the managers philosophy was stretched as an expectant crowd got anxious and the game swung.
“Yeah, and it’s not easy, because you are dealing with human beings. You even saw that on Sunday, there was anxiety there when we conceded a couple of goals, you could sense the crowd getting anxious.
“We’ve just got to believe in what we do here every day and what we’re trying to build. To the players’ credit, that’s what they have done for the most part. That’s why we’re sitting where we are in the league, why we’ve already won a trophy and we’re still in Europe.
“It’s because the players, most of the time, have found it.”
That belief in the manager’s process was arguably tested more so last Thursday as Bodo/Glimt appeared a more bedded in version of the manager’s own system and took advantage of lapses in concentration to pick Celtic off on the counter attack.
And while the Norwegians were ruthless when chances to create and execute arose, Celtic were uncharacteristically hesitant, with final passes missing and goalscoring opportunities passed up, although the manager believes experiencing such an event will ensure the players learn far more than he ever could talking about footballing theory.
“We’re dealing with human beings and last Thursday we didn’t deal with that well in moments of the game. I think the context of it was that they scored early and that made us a little anxious about it. We’ve just got to stay really focused and really calm through that process.
“That’s what we spoke about, we got ourselves back into the game, they then scored a third goal from the deflection. Those are the things that happen in football, you just have to stay calm.
“If there was a lesson out of that game, it is that we don’t need to get too anxious or too frustrated if things aren’t working out. We can find solutions, as we have in other games, by playing our football.
“Talking to the players afterwards, they understand that. And for a lot of them this is all part of the experience. A key part of experience is living something, not talking about something. So I can talk to them about what these things are like, but they have to go and do it themselves and that’s how we get growth.
“I’m sure they know it and a lot of the lads will have grown from what happened last week.”
There has been a great improvement in Celtic’s performances with every passing week, so much so it could be argued those of us watching on believed Celtic were far further along the line than the manager believed. And to be fair to Ange Postecoglou, he’s continually stated his team still had a long way to go in their development, however he believes his side certainly know how to score goals and that’s a necessity as the Hoops head to Norway tonight looking to eat into Bodo/Glimt’s first leg lead.
“I think you learn every week. I’ve said all along that we’re still a team that’s developing. Other people have tried to push us into this place where we’re well down the line in terms of the potential of this team, but we’re still putting things together.
“You’re going to have times where things don’t go to plan. So, we learn every week, we learned something out of Sunday’s game. Last week, they were a lot more efficient in the box than we were. We had plenty of opportunities that we didn’t take, they had less opportunities and took them.
“At the same time, that’s not an area we’ve struggled in this year. We’ve scored a lot of goals. I guess from my perspective it’s why we approach football the way we do and why we are that kind of team. We haven’t changed our approach all the way through, so it’s not about having confidence, we just know that we have to go there and play our football.
“That’s why I want us to be the team we are, so that when these challenges come we don’t have to change.”
There are few amongst the Celtic support who won’t believe Ange Postecoglou’s team can go to Norway tonight and score the goals they’d need to qualify. Where many would have reservations is the rate by which Celtic concede goals in European competition and whether the front foot approach may well see the Hoops net bulge as often if not more than Bodo/Glimt’s, considering 25 goals have been conceded in just 13 European ties this season.
However, Postecoglou’s thoughts on that are clear, Celtic have been punished for lapses in concentration, and although he admits his team playing his way will always concede goals, he’s building a team who will outscore the opposition.
“Obviously to score three goals away from home and to deny the opposition is not an easy task. It’s a good challenge for us, but I think from our perspective it’s not so much about confidence, it’s about knowing we have to go there and play our football because that’s what is going to help us achieve our targets.
“That’s all part of the development. We understand these different levels. We’ve conceded goals in Europe when the opposition have punished us for lapses in concentration.
“Within that, I don’t think we’re ever going to be a team that doesn’t concede goals. Hopefully, we’re a team who scores more than we concede. We could have gone through those games and found out nothing about ourselves, it’s just not my approach. I know that doesn’t sit comfortably with a lot of people who look at football differently, but I don’t see those kind of things as negatives.
“Our approach will always be to test ourselves and then see what the outcomes are.”
Whilst you appreciate any supporters concerns over the concession of too many goals, the Celtic manager’s unwavering belief in his process is infectious and it makes a lot of sense, especially tonight.
Celtic need to score two more goals than the opposition to level this tie, they need three more to win it, even if that takes extra-time. That will make for entertainment tonight as it always does watching Celtic under this manager. Much like the players we simply have to buy into the manager’s philosophy and enjoy the ride. Tonight, may well be a rocky and windswept ride, but as ever under Postecoglou it will be football played the way it should be, as long as Celtic remain as cool in their minds as their bodies will be tonight.
Niall J
