Bodo/Glimt manager Kjetil Knutsen believes rather than back down and resort to any defensive tactics, instead Postecoglou will double down, and press the Norwegian’s even higher at the Aspmyra Stadion this evening. Celtic are the visitors to the small town inside the Arctic Circle in the far North of Norway and are avoiding the worst of the snow back in Scotland!
And you know what, he’s probably spot on, given the short shrift answers Ange Postecoglou gave to the assembled media this afternoon whenever a case for the defence was raised.
“They have a style and I think they will attack the game the same way as the last game. They start really aggressive against us, so I think they will do the same tomorrow and its only two goals and it’s ninety minutes,” Knutsen said, as reported by Scottish Sun.
“I think they will have analysed the game and I think they will try to win the ball and press us even higher.We have analysed the game and we are well prepared for a hard game. I think we learned a lot from the last game.
“We know we are playing against an attacking team. I think they will do the same. It’s an interesting game because it’s an attacking team against an attacking team – so hopefully we will get a lot of chances in the game.”
Bodo/Glimt under Knutsen perhaps gives Celtic fans a touch more insight into what supporters can expect from an Ange Postecoglou side, once it is really bedded in. Knutsen after all is in the fourth year of his Norwegian project, meanwhile Ange Postecoglou was still adding to his first eleven as little as four weeks ago.
With both playing similar formations and both keen for perpetual motion from their players – unless doing mid-match huddles or struggling with cramp – the non-stop belief in attacking football is clear to see from both sides, with Knutsen going as far as to say the two side’s share the same footballing DNA.
“Celtic have the same DNA. The manager has done a great job with the team. What for me is the most interesting is how they play football. Celtic’s DNA I really think is similar to Bodo/Glimt. He’s new in the job. He needs time. If you ask me, I have watched a lot of games and I really felt they have taken a lot of steps in the last couple of months.
“I think he and his team will be a very good team in Europe in the future.”
And I don’t believe for a minute Kjetil Knutsen was being in any way condescending when he said Ange Postecoglou needs time. Because to have a side who can operate on a European level, as we have been able to do in the main consistently at domestic level this season, both the manager and the players will need time to adjust their game for more challenging European opponents. Whereby at times in Scotland the odd moment of lost concentration or the wrong judgement call can be absorbed, there is less scope for it against well-established European teams.
However, lessons learned from teams such as Bodo Glimt can only serve Celtic well, and tomorrow night we’ll get to see if Celtic and Ange Postecoglou can come up with the necessary tweaks to put the pressure onto the Norwegian Champions in their own back yard, and turn this tie around.
In truth there is very little between both sides, bar experience of playing the respective manager’s system, and it may be Ange Postecoglou won’t have needed too much time to come up with a plan to counter Knutsen’s Bodo/Glimt.
Niall J
