Paul Harley reached the last 16 of the Champions League playing for Gordon Strachan’s Celtic side that often punched above its weight in European football’s premier event beating the likes of European Champions AC Milan, Benfica and of course Manchester United to emerge from the group stages.
So the former Celtic midfielder is well versed in what’s needed to see off the sides that Celtic are going to face in the draw which takes place tomorrow afternoon at around 5pm, Celtic Park time. Celtic will be in pot 4 so will be punching above our weight in theory anyway even if we finish third and therefore progress into the Europa League after Christmas.
However a top two finish is what Celtic achieved on a couple of occasions and Hartley reckons that in order to achieve that this season Ange Postecoglou might have to change his Angeball philosophy and be a little more pragmatic especially in the difficult away ties where Celtic have ofter struggled in European football for too long really.
“I don’t think Ange does compromise, but sometimes you’ve just got to say, ‘We’re playing against better players today and we might get punished more’, Hartley told Scottish Sun.
The Hartlepool manager has been mightily impressed by the impact that Postecoglou has made at his old club and reckons that the Celtic manager is unusually honest in his conversations about his football but admits that his own experiences in the Group stages of the Champions League tells him that Celtic will need to be much more cautious, certainly away from home, if they are to get the desired results.
“I like listening to him. I don’t know him, but I’d like to speak to him. I like the way he talks. He’s really honest, which is unusual for managers nowadays. He tells you how it is. If you play well, you play well, but if you don’t play well, you don’t play well.
“In the Champions League group stages you’re playing against better players and better teams that are better organised. They can also spend £50million on one player, so it won’t always be easy to play the way he wants, especially away from home. I’ve been there. We had to be really organised away from home, but we were different at Celtic Park because of the crowd. The Celtic supporters want to drive you forward all the time,” Hartley noted.
“The noise on a Champions League night is absolutely amazing. It’s one of those games that every player wants to play in.”
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“I do think it’s harder to get out of the groups. Reaching the group stage is excellent and I was lucky enough to get to the last 16 with Celtic. But the next stage and challenge for Ange is to try to get out of it and that’s never going to be easy.
“At the same time, we’ve seen it in the Europa League with what (the)Rangers have done over the last couple of years. It shows what you can do if you’ve got a good enough squad and you believe in yourself.
“And I’ve always thought the backing of the home supporters is vital in these games. It’s a big season for Ange, in Europe certainly. It’s big for Celtic getting into the Champions League. I thought they’d strengthen the squad this summer and they have.
“Financially it’s a lot of money to get through to the last 16. They’ll want to do well in the group stages and not just make up the numbers.”
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