It seems like an age – and at the same time just yesterday – since Ange Postecoglou took his Celtic team to Ibrox. On that occasion a team cobbled together, from new signings just in the door, youthful prospects and a few wantaways – now long gone – lost by a solitary goal. And despite the team being a hotch-potch effort and the manager’s methods still being conveyed to the group, Celtic could and should have come away from that defeat with a far more positive outcome.
Yet at the start of the season there was little from the result that couldn’t be rectified with time and hard work, and by the time the second derby of the season came around Celtic handed out a ‘skelping to theRangers and the opposition looked visibly stunned – and showed just how far the Ange Postecoglou revolution had come.
Now the Celtic manager takes Celtic to Ibrox again on 3 April, and speaking to Celtic TV it appears he’s up for the challenge, and an encounter he admits has ‘big consequences’, nicely putting pressure on a rival three points behind in the title race, while at the same time ensuring his own players are on message.
“It’s a great challenge for us,” Ange stated. “I think the first game there we didn’t get the result we wanted but I thought our performance wasn’t too bad, it was a pretty tight game. We had a couple we didn’t take, there is no doubt it’s going to be a great occasion, you wan’t to go into these games, firstly, in good form, which we are.
“And secondly knowing there’s big consequences to the outcome, It’s a great position for us to be in, I know the players will be looking forward to it.”
Confidence is certainly high in the Celtic camp. However, the manager will know a visit to Ibrox may be viewed as an altogether different experience from the recent win at Celtic Park.
As ever though, don’t expect Celtic to change much about their tactical approach, with the initial thoughts of the manager being to take a front foot aggressive tack, which makes all the more sense considering the opposition are the side playing catch-up, and will be under pressure from their own support not to be as meek as they were when surrendering under intense pressure at Celtic Park in February.
“It just depends on how the game goes. We definitely want to bring the same type of energy and intensity, we try and do that home and away.
“I think a key to the position we’re in is because away from home we’re still taking the game to the opposition and we are still being really aggressive with our approach, which I think has helped us win a lot of games away from home.
“So that won’t change, but you just don’t know what the opposition will bring, for us, we’ve been really good at overcoming the challenges before us. Whatever that might be in that game, hopefully within our football we can find the solution.”
With an opposition feeling the pressure, and not renowned for handling it well, theRangers will have to attempt to open this game up from the outset, meaning space and opportunities will arise for a Celtic team who press from the front incessantly to push the opposition into mistakes in possession.
An opportunity then arises to force individual errors, and capitalise on them, from a side who looked far from comfortable trying to play out from the back in the last meeting between the sides, and one who will be feeling the nerves ahead of a must win encounter. This then could well be a game that could suit Celtic more than the opposition.
For theRangers the last result at Celtic Park will be fresh in their minds, and there is little chance their confidence won’t have been impacted by the manner in which they were blown away at Celtic Park last month.
Celtic have exactly the style of play to exploit such weaknesses and have a chance to prove they are an altogether different prospect for theRangers than the last Celtic side who visited Ibrox.
Niall J
