Celtic begin the defence of our Scottish Premiership title tomorrow afternoon at Celtic Park against Aberdeen, kick-off is 4.30pm CPT, and that means that the first pre-match media conference of the season with the Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has taken place.
The questions come from both the mainstream media and the Celtic Fan media and you can enjoy deciding which is which when listening to the questions that are being put to the Celtic manager. We’ll have a look at the reaction to Ange’s first media conference of the new season next on The Celtic Star.
Here’s Ange’s full media conference ahead of tomorrow’s game against Aberdeen…
Q: How different does it feel going into this season as champions as opposed to last season when you were trying to wrestle the title away from your city rivals?
Ange Postecoglou: It’s not really something that is in the consciousness. It is more the fact we are in a different space in terms of where we are at as a club and more importantly as a squad. If you wind the clock back 12 months ago going into the first game it was pretty chaotic as we had signed some players who were in quarantine, others were flying in and some we hadn’t even signed yet.
Pre-season was pretty frenetic as well with Champions League qualifiers. This has a different feel to it this year but the fact we are champions is not the biggest difference. The biggest difference is that we are more settled and we have had a different pre-season and the players, for the most part, have all been in for four days and going into the first game we have a different sort of outlook.
Blackburn Rovers manager Jon Dahl Tommasson is seen during the Pre-Season Friendly match between Celtic and Blackburn Rovers on July 16, 2022 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Q: Looking at Aberdeen they have made lots of changes to their squad and have four competitive games behind them which you haven’t, how do you assess them as you will have had a look at them in their League Cup games?
Ange Postecoglou: They will be a good challenge for us. It is always difficult when a manager comes in mid-season like Jim did last year but now he has his squad together and they have made a lot of changes and it has been a positive start for them in the cup. They have had four good competitive games under their belt and they are game ready and that is always a challenge for us. At the same time, we have had a good pre-season and had some competitive friendly games and tough games which have been good for us.
The squad is in a good place in terms of health-wise and we are at home in front of our fans and we just want to make sure that we lay down a really strong marker for the year ahead. Irrespective of who you play in the first game there is always a little bit of the unknown there as everyone starts the season feeling good and optimistic about their chances. It’s only after the first 90 minutes that everyone gets to really assess how they are going. For us, it is the first game of the year and we are looking forward to it.
Q: With Sunday being flag day that gives you a chance to give a nod to last season’s achievements but do you consign that to the history books and look to kick on when the whistle blows?
Ange Postecoglou: In a symbolic way, the playing group have already put it into the history books on the first day of pre-season. The players have come back and worked really hard and they understand that it is a new challenge ahead for us and a new season with new things to be achieved. It was put to bed four weeks ago but Sunday will be the final day when we recognise the fantastic achievements of of everyone representing our football club and it is a good way to begin the new season and the new adventure that awaits.
Q: How do you assess the domestic challenge that you will face this season?
Ange Postecoglou: It will be tough. It will be no tougher than last season. It is hard to assess things in pre-season. Every manager thinks they have had a great pre-season and every signing has been fantastic and all that stuff gets to unfold in the reality of competition in the next few weeks. We will see then how everyone’s pre-season has really been and how their signings shape up.<
We didn’t have a great pre-season last year but it didn’t stop us from being successful so I don’t think that is an indicator of what lies ahead for us. All we can do is concentrate on ourselves and know that whatever lies ahead we are going to have to be at our best to be successful. That means starting on Sunday we are going to have to perform to the levels that we know we can and make it difficult for the opposition and lay down a strong marker for what is ahead.
Q: Can you overstate from a coaching point of view the importance of pre-season and kicking on again in terms of the standards that you set last season?
Ange Postecoglou: It has given us the chance to have a meticulously planned pre-season meaning that in every session and every game we can put certain conditions around it without having competitive fixtures as a backdrop so that gives you some certainty in what you do. It is how you use that time and how you prepare your players for what’s ahead.
To all intents and purposes, we have had a strong pre-season from the point of view that we got all the work that we needed to get done and the games have been competitive and our performances within those games have shown some good progress for us. That becomes irrelevant once the real stuff starts and that is where you get a clearer understanding of where you are at and what you’ve done and the work you’ve done in terms of preparing the team but also in terms of the players you have brought in and how they fit into the project.
Q: How is the squad looking?
Ange Postecoglou: Everyone is in pretty good nick. I think Carl Starfelt is the only definite non-starter. He did train with the team today and will train with the team tomorrow but that is his first two sessions. He has got a tick from the medical and sports science teams to fully integrate with the rest of the squad. It is just a matter of him getting training time. Yosuke Ideguchi picked up an unfortunate injury in training with a gash on his leg that required quite a few stitches so he’ll probably miss a few weeks.
Q: Looking at the players you have brought in and the squad depth are you happy with what you have got or are there other areas you have identified to strengthen before the window closes?
Ange Postecoglou: We are happy with the ones we have brought in and there were some areas where I thought we needed some strengthening, particularly from a squad perspective – Goalkeeper, left-back, centre-back, and midfield – were all definite areas where I just wanted to make us a little bit stronger and more robust so we had more options through there. It is great we have done that. Signing Jota and Cameron on permanent deals was an important part of what we were trying to build.
I am pleased with where we are at and there are still three or four weeks of the window left and we’ll still be active and agile to see whether we can still strengthen in areas. There will be some outgoings and there will be opportunities there potentially to bring others in. There is nothing set in stone with that. From my perspective, we have done the crucial bits that we needed to do and if there are some areas that we can still improve on in the next three or four weeks we will.
Mikey Johnston of Celtic battles for possession with Stephen O’Donnell of Motherwell during the Cinch Scottish Premiership match between Celtic FC and Motherwell FC at on December 12, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Q: Is Mikey Johnston one of those players who could be heading out on loan before the window closes?
Ange Postecoglou: Yes. Potentially we are working with Mikey on that and I think with him there is definitely a talented footballer there but sometimes you just need a different environment to help that happen and I just think for him and his career some time away playing in a different environment, enjoying his football and bringing out all the potential we know he has might suit him. He has been unlucky with injuries but the good thing is during this pre-season he has been great.
He has not missed a session and he has done everything. Part of my responsibility is to develop younger players or ones that have yet to establish themselves and the decision as to whether they get enough game time here or it is better to look elsewhere. With Mikey, my view is that we are working hard with him to try and see if we can facilitate something like that happening.
Q: How happy are you with the way the new guys have slotted in over the past few weeks?
Ange Postecoglou: They’ve slotted in well and we try to make sure we know what we’re getting in terms of profile, character and personality. We were pretty confident that the guys we brought in would fit in really well and that has happened. There have not been too many obstacles in their way as they have got into training and the environment and fitted in seamlessly. They will all take a bit of time to grasp our football and our training but from an initial introduction to it and being a footballer at this club they have all enjoyed the experience. They have fitted in without too many problems.
Q: From a personal point of view as Celtic’s manager, how much do you think it will benefit you that you now have that first season under your belt and are immersed in Scottish Football and know the landscape of everything?
Ange Postecoglou: Considering no one thought I knew anything at the start of last year I think I am in a better place, mate, but I am well prepared as I always am.
Q: From your position, how much of a risk is it that Scottish Football now understands your tactics a bit better and how do you plan on always staying a step ahead of that?<
Ange Postecoglou: It depends on how closely they have been paying attention, my experience is they do not usually so that is the challenge for every football manager at every club. I have said it already that we need to be better than last year if we want to repeat the success. We cannot go out there and play to the levels we did last year.
It brought us a lot of success but we know we need to do better and if you can do that it does not guarantee success, but it gives you a good chance. We did not have a great pre-season last year, but we still managed to set down markers for what we wanted to achieve, and we did it. The message is no different this year. We have to prepare ourselves for a tough season with the full knowledge that people will try and stop us from achieving what we did last year so it is up to us to make sure that does not happen.
Q: There has been a lot of debate about Kyogo and Giakoumakis both vying for the starting position, do you see it like that or is it just good for squad rotation or could they perhaps play together? Also, how do you manage their expectations in terms of game time?
Ange Postecoglou: I do not look at it that way. My job is to build a team to try and achieve all the objectives that this football club has. This club plays between 55 and 60 games per year and wants to be successful in all competitions. You cannot do that with 11 players. I have stressed before that a limitation for us last year is that we were overburdening certain players in certain positions, and we paid the price because they missed huge parts of the season with injuries because we did not have the team or squad to cope with what is required at this football club. I do not have a first eleven or second eleven, I just have a group of 25 or 26 players who are available to do the job.
Q: Last season you barely had any time to work with the players before being thrown into the Champions League qualifiers, this season you have obviously had a lot more time to work with the players. Are there any players you have seen an improvement from in terms of being able to give more intensive coaching at this stage of the season?
Ange Postecoglou: To be fair to the players my role is to make sure they are better than they were last year. The majority of the players were not even here this time last year so the fact they are able to perform to consistent levels is a credit to themselves and a credit to the environment we created here. We gave them the opportunity to perform to really good levels even though most of them were thrown in with either no pre-season or no preparation sometimes.
My role now is to make sure that everyone performs at a better level and if people ask if the squad has been strengthened. We have to strengthen and it will be improved by us getting better levels of performance out of some of the players who I said last year were kind of literally thrown in and expected to perform at levels which will give us success. With all the boys we have noticed that since they have come in they have had the appetite to work hard and that is what you are looking for.
My radar is always up if there is any sort of complacency or people are taking things for granted whether that is staff or players. I have not seen any of that, I have a hungry group of people who enjoyed the success last year but they have come back looking for more and to see what the next layer is. My job is to make sure that the players can see that.
Q: How do you feel that after last season’s success the fans will be even more demanding this year?
Ange Postecoglou: We’ll just enjoy the ride, we had our ups and downs last year but we stuck together and as I always say it is how you feel when you get off the rollercoaster that is important. I’m sure it will be the same this year but hopefully, at the end the fans get off and say ‘that was a hell of a ride, let’s go again.
