Ange Postecoglou today praised Greg Taylor then said that the Celtic left-back, who has had an outstanding season for the Champions, will need to keep on improving or run the risk of losing his place in the team. But the Scotland international defender shouldn’t take that personally because it applies to everyone on the playing staff in the squad that the Celtic manager has assembled over the past two years.
Greg Taylor of Celtic interacts with Todd Cantwell of theRangers during the Scottish Cup Semi Final match between Rangers and Celtic at Hampden Park on 30 April, 2023. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Only a handful of players remain from the group of players Ange Postecoglou inherited from Neil Lennon. There’s Taylor and the current captain Callum McGregor, James Forrest, who incidentally is now fully fit and in contention for some game-time at Ibrox tomorrow lunchtime, Anthony Ralston and Stephen Welsh, was was among the Celtic party at Ibrox in midweek when the Celtic B Team won the Glasgow Cup, beating theRangers in a penalty shoot-out after an exciting 3-3 draw.
That’s Celtic won the Scottish Premiership title, the League Cup, the Scottish Youth Cup, the Glasgow Cup and there’s the Scottish Cup Finals to come (for both men and women) while Fran Alonso’s side is hunting down a first ever SWPL1 title. Some high standards are being set at Celtic these days and for Taylor and everyone else it’s all about working hard and improving.
“It’s fair to say that Greg has improved immensely in all aspects of his game but that was always going to be his challenge and all the boys’ challenge,” the Celtic manager said at today’s media conference.
“That is what I expect of them. I think if they don’t improve or they stagnate or feel like they don’t need to improve then they have to remember that they are just passing by but they have to represent this club to the best of their ability.
“Greg has been great at receiving information and being able to implement that into his game and understanding the tools that are given to him by the coaching staff to help him become a better player.
O’Riley, McGregor and Taylor will all start today
“With all the players they need to be receptive to that first and if they are then it is up to us to give them that information to help them improve and Greg has been great.
“He is enjoying his role at the football club not just as a player but as a person of influence within the group which is growing all the time and I think that’s great also and it is a credit to him as he has tackled that task and the challenge will be to improve again next year because if he doesn’t then somebody else will and that’s the challenge to all of them,” the Celtic manager noted.
Watch Ange Postecoglou’s Media Conference ahead of tomorrow’s match at Ibrox below…