Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou spoke to Celtic TV after the match with St Mirren yesterday to discuss the result and overall performance of his team.
Celtic struggled in the first 45 minutes to break down a dogged Buddies team who were determined not to give anything away on their latest trip to Paradise. Celtic eventually breached the rearguard of Stephen Robinson’s men in the second-half to win 2-0 – courtesy of a Cameron Carter-Vickers strike and Callum McGregor finish. On the match, Ange said:
“We didn’t want to get too anxious about the fact we hadn’t scored. We had to keep working away and over the course of the game they would get tired and the gaps would open and we done that by staying disciplined. You can understand the supporters want to put the game to bed early but it’s not easy when you’re consistently trying to keep the same energy up when the other team are sitting deep.”
The manager was again steadfast in his belief in the process and the way he wants the game played. He said:
“We just have to stay disciplined and focused on the kind of football we want to play. We know we can eventually wear teams down and I thought we done that. “It was good, sometimes in games like this a set piece with someone who doesn’t normally score can step up.”
Postecoglou was also effusive in his praising of centre-back pairing, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt. Both were solid and Carter-Vickers scored a crucial goal at a nervous point in the game. Speaking of the two, he said:
“I thought Cameron and Carl were outstanding today. They had a lot of the ball and it wasn’t easy to find gaps but they also stayed disciplined in their output. It was great to see Cameron get his reward and that set us on our way to create more chances and take further control.”
Looking ahead to Livingston this weekend, Ange insisted squad options are essential; with Giorgos Giakoumakis set to be available for the trip to West Lothian.
“We have put together a strong squad to use players for different reasons. I thought today we just had to take control in the end there because we gained the ascendency and the substitutes came on and helped. We need to recover and focus from this. We have time to prepare and we will get Giakoumakis back which will give us more quality in depth. It will be a tough challenge but so will all the games now for the rest of the season.”
Watch Ange give his thoughts on the game yesterday below…
Paul Gillespie
