Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou spoke to Celtic TV ahead of this afternoon’s third and final friendly of the summer training camp against Banik Ostrava in Czech Republic this afternoon – kick off is at 5pm Celtic Park Time.
Today’s match celebrates Banik Ostrava centenary and Celtic Curio was first to offer his own congratulations on 100 years of unbroken history.
Congratulations @fcbanikostrava on 100 years of unbroken History 👏🏽#ONECLUB 🤝
— Celtic Curio (@Celticcurio) July 13, 2022
Ange seems satisfied with the pre-season training camp and there’s even a hint that he’s missing those European qualifiers, probably just can’t wait for the real stuff to begin! The game against Rapid Vienna was more like it, competitive, played in-front of supporters and the feeling of a proper game of football.
Here’s what Ange has been saying to Celtic TV…
“It’s been a good camp. We’ve got through the majority of the work we wanted to and most of the players have got through it. We’ve got a couple of niggling little injuries which has meant some players missed a couple of sessions here and there.
“The main focus is always the same, it doesn’t matter if it’s the beginning of the season or the middle of the season. We just want to make sure that we provide an environment for the players to work hard and improve and to get them ready for game one.
That’s the whole point of pre-season, you can’t look too far ahead. We’re creating a strong foundation but the ultimate priority is to be ready when the league kicks-off.
“Last year we created a way of playing that we want to evolve and improve on. Pre-season is a combination of training to get some match-fitness into the players but it’s also the one time of the year when you know you don’t have competitive games and you can actually work on your game model at training. What we try to do is create an environment where we can combine both. Players getting their fitness but also improving our game.
“The good thing for us so far it that they have been good pre-season games, the first one against lesser opposition but for what it was an exercise the players should good intent and we got what we wanted out of it.
“The second game felt like a real competitive game at times, which is really important for us. While this year we have the luxury of not having European qualifiers, they can also be a preparation for you for the real stuff.
“So in the absence of that it’s really important for us that our pre-season friendly games have some competitive fixtures. The Rapid game was certainly a good game and when you play in the stadium in-front of supporters they are much more of a worthwhile exercise than if you played the same opposition at a training venue.
“Ultimately, irrespective of what pre-season was like last year what we proved was that we could still be successful. The flip side of that that is just because we’ve got a more settled pre-season just to think that things are going to run smoothly. It’s not how it works.
READ THIS…Banik Ostrava v Celtic: team news, KO time, where to watch and information for Celtic supporters attending today’s game…
“What we did set last year at pre-season was a tempo and an intent to be a certain type of team with the players we had.
“As a football fan and a person involved in the game I’m always excited about the possibilities of what a season can bring. We didn’t set ourselves any targets last year because we didn’t want to put a limit on what we could achieve and we had a fairly successful season.
“It will be the same this year every beginning of the season gives you possibilities to create something special & that’s what we want to prepare for.”
Some really boring questions being asked in that interview, Ange looked bemused at some of them… I’d like to see a bit of personality, you know, normal human interaction, in these in future!
That aside, looking forward to tonights game, and waiting patiently on the club signing another couple(at least) of first team ready players to solidify this squad for the coming seasons campaigns.