Ange Postecoglou’s pre-match media conference today included a squad update for Kilmarnock – basically those missing last week will not be risked on the plastic pitch at Rugby Park while everyone involved in last Saturday’s 3-2 win over theRangers is good to go – and also a condemnation of the large number of morons who this week sent threatening and abusive messages to referee Kevin Clancy after both theRangers manager and theRangers captain came into the media room at Celtic Park on Saturday afternoon – where The Celtic Star had a front row seat – pedalling a lot of nonsense as their excuses for losing the game.
Mick Beale has now had three must win games against Celtic and has won none of them while Tavernier has been a serial loser in Scottish football.
Today Beale accepted that he was WRONG to claim that he had seen footage of the ball hitting Jota’s hand for Celtic’s winner and there is no denying that Morelos did push Alistair Johnston. Whether that was enough to merit a free-kick is down to the referee and making the call hardly merited the orchestrated campaign against him from the manager, the captain and whoever wrote the letter to the Scottish FA immediately after the game.
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- Photo: Celtic Star Editor
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- Photo: Celtic Star Editor
Today Ange Postecoglou was asked if it concerned him that after the game Kevin Clancy’s personal contact details were leaked online and he was on the receiving end of threats that have ended up as a Police Scotland matter.
“It’s concerning for any person, mate. We shouldn’t even be talking about it. We all understand we work in a public space and with that comes scrutiny, but that should begin and end within the professions we work in, not go into our personal lives,” the Celtic manager said.
“And particularly with officials because, for the most part, we have clubs or supporter bases we would like to think would go into bat for us in situations like this. But the officials are kind of left out on their own. I think it’s a really timely reminder to all of us about the language we use and the reasonings we use behind things.
“I mean last week, if you look at it, was a real derby game and it had a bit of everything, but it wasn’t a great game. It was a game that was riddled by mistakes from both sides. Both sides. Players and, dare I say it, managers made a lot more mistakes than the officials did on the day.
“So why we need to separate that, from my perspective, if anyone analysed that game and think one moment decided that, then they are not really looking at the big picture. From my perspective, there is a decision there where everyone has opinions on it but it’s not fact-based because it’s not like it’s an offside or something you can clearly see.
“It’s an opinion-based thing. Everyone gives their opinion and ultimately one person has to make the decision. It’s all right for us to give our opinion and be really brave but when you have got to be there and make a decision, that’s when we have to have respect for the officials and allow them to do their job.
“Within the context of that, whatever opinions we have, I thought we should have had a penalty at Ibrox. But it doesn’t really matter, you give your opinion and you move on, and you analyse the game.
“As I said, that was a mistake-riddled derby by both teams and to isolate the officials as to the reasoning why the contest went one way or another, I think gives a false impression and adds to the unnecessary pressure on the people making decisions,” Ange Postecoglou said.
Well said Ange. Seem to remember someone warning him about all of this right at the start of his time as Celtic manager.
Again Ange shows his class and intelligence as he is able to have digs and defend the club subtly without being too blatant/ obvious/ classless like his counterpart over the way. He is so media savvy and everything is so smart and measured that Moley should really be trying to take pointers from him, but he won’t, of course. Their only tactic against us seemed to be to dive and hope for fouls, try to get bookings .. and their looking over to Moley EVERY time they did dive proves, for me, that it was his plan all along. We will never be that bad again, at home anyway. Roll on the semi-final and hopefully really end their season.