Thoughts before the drive to Pittodrie as Ange looks at January recruitment

It should surprise no-one that Ange Postecoglou has already been working on his plans for the January transfer window and that the manager is nowhere near done as far as rebuilding the Celtic squad as that it reflects the kind of football that he wants to play.

It’s fair to say that having just arrived in Scotland and with the Champions League qualifier weeks and not months away, Postecoglou was prepared to go with much of the recruitment work that had been done by the club and go with various additions to the squad as the need to have sufficient numbers in the squad meant that short term considerations were paramount and the long term plans would have to wait.

That would also give Postecoglou time to see what he has to work with and to identify the weaknesses and look at introducing his own players who will know how to play his style of football. So the January window is crucial.

We have to get there first and while the plans are reassuringly well afoot the results between now and then need to be much better and we need to get ourselves back into the title race. This article is being written before leaving for Pittodrie in ten minutes. We need to win today. We then need to go on a run. The thing that is worrying me is that if you think back to theRangers results in Europe over the past few seasons away from home they have achieved these by sitting deep then counter-attacking at speed. That is what they’ll do on 2 January at Celtic Park and that is when things could get ugly.

The importance of a clean sheet…That is what we need to remember. Let’s start today and let’s make it a habit. A few weeks ago we talks about Frank McGarvey saying he prefers a 1-0 to a 4-3 because winning to zero is how teams end up winning trophies. Celtic players need to defend our goal much better than has been the case in recent weeks.

Here’s Ange talking about his January transfer window plans…

“It’s no secret we still need to add to the squad. We were never going to do it in one transfer window, especially when you look at the significant exits we had,” the Celtic manager said, as reported by Daily Record. “It was always going to be a two or three window process so we’re looking at January at the moment.

“We know the areas we need to bolster. It’s about getting more players that I believe can play the type of football we want to play. There is a mentality attached to that. It’s about the type of personalities who are going to be brave and really ambitious.

“That’s what we’re trying to target. We will definitely be adding something to the squad. Japan is one of the markets we’ll be looking at. Obviously I know it really well and they will get to the end of their season, which is a good time if there’s anyone who will fit into our set-up.

“We will be looking everywhere. The last window was frantic. This time we want to be planning well in advance. We’ve identified targets and begun discussions before we get to January so that we can conclude deals a lot quicker than we did in the previous window.”

Ange notes that the return of both Christopher Jullien and James Forrest will be like two new signings For Celtic and they’ll be back at the other side of the International break.

“They both have that experience and nous. That’s why it will be great to get them back because they can help us through this challenging period. It’s hard to say exactly when they’ll be back. Chris has been working in rehab and we’re hopeful that he’ll start team training after the international break.

“James is a bit different. He had a minor setback and we just haven’t been able to get him up and running. It’s difficult to have a timeline on it. My initial thoughts were he wouldn’t be too long but it’s become a bit stretched out now.

“We have to be guided by him and how the injury heals. He’s a player I felt would make a significant contribution. Obviously that hasn’t happened.”

And so folks to Pittodrie…“Psychologically, it’s important we get that first away win in the league,” And noted, “when you talk about building a strong mentality, the players need to get rewards for their hard work.

“That’s the only way we’re going to get them. If we do win and get the result, it will show that we have the mentality to do it at a difficult place.”

We’ll post on the road but the more accomplished articles will have to wait until we’re back down the road. COYBIG. Three points and a clean sheet and we’ll be delighted…