Ange Postecoglou is still unsure whether he will have Giorgos Giakoumakis or David Turnbull available for the Scottish Cup semi-final against theRangers at Hampden on Sunday as the Celtic manager awaits the scan on the Greek striker’s thigh strain and to find out whether the heavy knock that the Scotland midfielder took against St Johnstone settles down to allow him to face the latest Ibrox outfit at the National Stadium this weekend.
And after two 2022 victories over theRangers the Celtic boss reckons Sunday’s game can only be won in its own merits and that the previous encounters, Celtic’s 3-0 win at Celtic Park in early February and last weekend’s 2-1 win at Ibrox will have little bearing on the semi-final outcome.
“You kinda know that, irrespective of previous form or previous encounters with the same team, it just becomes irrelevant. There’s always an edge to these kinds of games,” Ange told Celtic TV today.
Fresh from his side’s 7-0 demolition of the current Scottish Cup holders at the weekend, Postecoglou recalls a much tighter game against the same opposition in the League Cup semi-final last November.
“You only have to remember the League Cup semi against St Johnstone – super tight game and James Forrest comes on and wins it for us.
“So, you know, these kinds of games have always been – irrespective of form, irrespective of ladder position, even irrespective of previous games – tight, tense and physical. They’ve got everything you need and that’s what makes them such memorable affairs. And we’ll be prepared for it.”
On his injury concerns, Postecoglou is waiting like the rest of us for news. On Giakoumakis: “Nothing concrete yet. Again, we’re still waiting on the final scans on it. Hopefully it’s not too bad. He feels like it’s not too bad. But until we get the information we won’t know.
And he’s in the same boat regarding Turnbull: “Similar with David Turnbull, he obviously got a pretty hard knock. It’s only a couple of days after so we’ll see how it all settles down.
“With both, I’m hoping it’s not too lengthy an absence.”
