Ange Postecoglou sat down with the mixed media this afternoon to preview the return leg of our Europa Conference League tie against Bodø/Glimt in Norway tomorrow. The manager was once more steadfast in his belief in the way in which we play should always be adhered to, as it is the best way of getting results. He has certainly shaken up Scottish football this season and made his mark on the European scene with some entertaining displays.
Unfortunately, Bodø had our number last week at Parkhead and we were found wanting as the Nordic side nabbed a 3-1 lead heading into the second game at home. Postecoglou has affirmed the need to play our game as we have done thus far in all competitions. Speaking ahead of the match, he said: “The whole reason I’m trying to build a way of playing for this football club, and my beliefs, is so that we don’t have to change our approach because what we know is that we need goals and that’s what we do every week.
“It would be a bigger challenge if we had to change our approach and become more expansive or more aggressive. I don’t think anyone could accuse us of not being that on a weekly basis, so from that perspective, it doesn’t really change anything for us. We’ve just got to go out there and do what we try and do every week when we play and that is – be aggressive, dominate the game, create chances and score goals. So our approach will be exactly the same.
🗣️ “We’ve got to go out there and do what we try and do every week when we play. Be aggressive, dominate the game and create chances.”
Full media conference with Ange Postecoglou 🎥#UECL | #BODCEL | #COYBIG🍀 pic.twitter.com/wGVWQaPdox
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) February 23, 2022
On his mehtods and the way Celtic will prepare for the game on Thursday, he said: “Our approach has always been that we get goals from multiple avenues. He scored three goals but over the whole season, our goals have been shared around and that’s going to be the key tomorrow. It’s not going to be just about one person. The reason we score so many goals is that we’ve got multiple avenues of goal threat and that’ll be our approach again tomorrow because that’s our approach every week.”
The boss also pointed to the fact that Kjetil Knutsen’s side had weeks to concentrate on one opponent. He continued: “Bodø had three or four weeks to prepare for one game, but in terms of fitness, I don’t think we struggled or they struggled because it’s a one-off game. We’re in the middle of a hectic schedule, with a lot of games, and we’ve tried to rotate the team as much as possible without it affecting performances, and from our perspective, we’re looking at the physical parameters coming out of games, and we’re still pretty strong in games.
“So that will be the key for us. It’s not so much about the fitness – with the five subs you can compensate for that a little bit towards the end of games and you can literally change half a team which should keep energy levels up as much as possible. For us it’s more about how we start the game and make sure the guys who start the game feel really fresh.
He added: “Bodo will be fresh because they’ve only had one game in the last month. If we can get an advantage through the fact that we’ve been playing regularly, and maybe we had more rhythm and put them under a little bit more pressure that might help us. But I don’t think it will be the physical component will decide the game.”
Watch Ange’s full media conference below…
Paul Gillespie
