Ange Postecoglou spoke to the Broadcast media yesterday afternoon alongside represetnatives from the Celtic fan media, who each were given one question each. While Ange was doing that Joe Hart was talking to the written press, the mainstream media after the two Celtic men had swapped places. So the media conference videos realised by the club features the broadcst conference and not the separate content in the papers today.
Here’s the video from the broadcast media conference with Ange unusally taking a little bit of exception to one ‘strong word’ used by one of the fan media representatives…
Here’s what Ange was telling the hacks, as reported by Daily Record as Ange talked about his Champions League aspirations. “I want to win games, I don’t like losing. I get disappointed. But I set us a certain task in this group to play a certain way.
“If I said that and what you guys saw was something different there would be cause for questioning our whole approach. But we said ‘we want to take the game to the opposition, we want to play attacking football, we want to create opportunities’ – and I think we’ve done that.
“We’ve fallen short in executing in that final third but there are fine margins in that. We’ve hit the post a number of times, we’ve missed some really good opportunities that you’d think we’d be able to take. So we have fallen short.
“But what I do take pride in is the fact that the players have been brave enough to go out there against the best opposition, not fear conceding goals against very good opposition and potentially have some heavy defeats.
“I take strength from that and I believe if we keep doing it over a number of years you’ll hit a sweet spot somewhere, where it all comes together and you get the success.”
“I don’t know about that. I think all European football is a challenge. It’s a real balancing act playing in Europe and domestic football – particularly if you want to challenge in both.
“But it’s important for us to try and qualify for a couple of reasons – one, we couldn’t get our primary target and our second target is to play European football beyond January. It’s still a possibility, so why would we dismiss that?
“And, two, every time you do play in Europe there’s always a learning there, especially for our players. For most of them this is their first real crack at European football and they’re doing it at Champions League level.
“They’re not being eased into it. They’ve been thrown in. They’ll be better footballers for it and the more we can stay in there the better. Ultimately, we’re not going to dismiss goals because maybe they’re a bit hard.”
“You just don’t know. That’s the difficulty. Some of the biggest, richest clubs in the world can’t win this competition. So they’re still waiting for their sweet spot.
“The Champions League, every year, is a challenge. Next year, we could have three phenomenal sides in our group and it’s just as hard, if not harder. So you just don’t know. I believe if you consistently get there and keep banging on the door, at some point it will happen.
“It could happen next year, it could happen in three or four years but I think there is more chance of it happening, by the laws of probability, if you take that approach.”
On the prospect of losing players in the transfer windows ahead, Ange is remarkably relaxed about that happening and he explains why. “You’ve still got the template. If our players move on, our job then is to replace them with better versions. We brought them here for a reason and they have moved on for a reason. So we know how that works.
“When we bring in the next one, can we get a better version of that player? If anything, it may even help you transform it even quicker. If we’ve got players who move on because they have done fantastically well for us, that’s a helluva template. And if I’m getting a better version of him here that’s going to mean our progress will be accelerated.”
“I said to the players, if we maintained the levels we had against Leipzig – physically and in tempo – in the league, we’ll destroy teams. That’s what has happened.”
Ange also showed his hand in determining his own move to Celtic and the role competing in the Champions League played in that. “Spot on, yeah. I’ve done it at a World Cup, and just about every other FIFA tournament. I’ve tested myself in foreign countries.
“You want to test those theories, because they are all theories until you go out there. But I have a real belief that it will stack up, both in the short term and the medium to long term. I love that aspect and that is why I take that approach.”
Incidentally Ange had an additional question yesterday regarding the ticket prices for the away section this evening, it’s not just for the away fans incidentally, this is the same ticket price as many non-season ticket Celtic supporters are paying this evening.
Have a listen to this and how well Ange handles it all…
And Celtic are doing their bit this evening…
Ukrainian children invited to be mascots at Celtic’s UEFA Champions League match
Celtic Football Club has announced that Ukrainian people displaced in Glasgow following the ongoing conflict will be welcomed to Celtic Park tomorrow night (Tuesday) as Celtic meets Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League.
A number of kids will be mascots at Celtic Park, joining the Celtic and Shakhtar Dontesk players as they walk out in Paradise. The Club will also be donating several hundred tickets to those who are currently settling in Glasgow.
Celtic has been actively working with refugees from all walks of life in Scotland for many years, including recently supporting the Scottish Refugee Council with significant donations.
Earlier this year in relation to the Ukrainian crisis, Celtic donated a further £10,000 to the Scottish Refugee Council to assist their work with Ukrainian refugees in Scotland.
Celtic will also be giving support to as many Ukrainian people as possible – people who seek safety, access to shelter, food and clothing, Celtic will aim to provide means to support people who often have nowhere else to turn.
Through Celtic FC Foundation, Celtic has also already announced a specific project, beginning this coming week, where they will be working with Ukrainian families and children offering support for mental health, physical well-being and social integration, all to be delivered within Celtic Park.
Celtic are experiencing one of the largest refugee and humanitarian crises in recent times with an estimated 6.6 million people forced to leave their homes and over 11,000 Ukrainian refugees arriving in Scotland.
Tony Hamilton, Chief Executive of Celtic FC Foundation, said: “Helping displaced people coming to Scotland with food, clothing and shelter is completely in line with our own values.
“We have been pleased to be in a position to do that in connection with the Scottish Refugee Council and also to build on this by delivering our own project at Celtic Park for those Ukrainian people in the city who need further support.
“There are already many such people in our communities and it’s important for us that we maintain a strong level of support where we can.
“Our sincere thanks to everyone who has contributed to the work that we’re doing in Scotland and across the world as we seek to make a positive difference to the lives of so many who face such huge challenges.
“We look forward to welcoming our Ukrainian guests to Celtic Park on Tuesday night and hope they feel at home at Celtic Park.”
This is a fantastic initiative Celtic has undertaken. Positively responding to a developing problem in Europe and helping people on the ground level is definitely the right thing to do, and makes us proud of the Bhoys for stepping up to help.
Always treat all scottish team as one Celtic-FC_1888 have never looked out of there depth in any game in Europe league this year but for some reason they are treated cause one team is getting out classed in there group no wonder angi is aggressive to some hacks