Not the best start in a Glasgow derby for Ange Postecoglou, but he will have learned his lesson – always play Kyogo Furuhashi up front.
The striker wasn’t necessarily bad on the wing for Celtic today, but Odsonne Edouard was – leaving fans puzzled as to why the Japanese international didn’t start at the spearhead of Celtic’s attack.
There are plenty of reasons as to why Celtic didn’t win today – poor marking from the winning corner, some terrible midfield performances, Celtic fans not being allowed to Ibrox and more; but there is no escaping the loss, and the acceptance that Celtic weren’t at their best.
Ange acknowledged this in his post-match interview, suggesting that you have to make your mark in these big games by getting the first goal – something Celtic didn’t do.
Speaking to Sky, the Hoops boss said his team paid the price for not stamping their authority on proceedings.
Disappointing, obviously. Tight game, could’ve gone either way you know, the first goal was really important and unfortunately we fell behind although we had a couple of good chances towards the end. You know the game is going to be tight, it’s a derby game – there isn’t going to be a lot of open space out there or a lot of opportunities, so getting that first goal was always going to be important. We didn’t and unfortunately we paid the price.
Quizzed about the manner of the goal, the Aussie said that he wasn’t frustrated at its occurrence.
No, I’m not really frustrated. Every time you concede a goal it’s always disappointing, and you’ve gotta analyse it. It was a tight game and one which we need to try to get a foothold in, and you do that by capitalising on your chances.It’s been a difficult month by throwing guys in at different times, and as soon as the window ends we’ll settle our squad down and start focusing on the next batch of games.
🗣️”We need to hit some form and start winning games.”
Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou reacts to the Old Firm defeat at Ibrox. What did you make of the game?👇 pic.twitter.com/N7IBdmlpFC
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) August 29, 2021
A wee suggestion, Ange, get shot of Edouard and Christie. If the real truth be told, this pair together with Turnbull fail in ever game against better opposition, just as they did when Lennon was manager. Offload at least Eddy and Christie within the next 48 hours and get Forrest on notice that his sick bed holidays are at an end.