It was a comfortable enough night at Celtic Park under the floodlights where around 50,000 Celtic fans turned up to cheer on the Champions and League leaders to the three points. Three first half goals from Greg Taylor, Daizen Maeda and Kyogo made sure of the points by the interval, much the same as was happening through in Edinburgh were Hearts under Robbie Neilson once again failed miserably to offer any sort of contest to their Ibrox cousins.
It matters little as far as Celtic are concerned as we march on taking another three points and counting down to the title. On this form as Ange has said many times, we’ll be hard to stop. Here’s how the Celtic manager got on speaking to Celtic TV after tonight’s 3-0 victory over Livingston….
Celtic TV: The job was done by half-time tonight but how do you assess that 90 minutes?
Ange Postecoglou: “I thought it was another strong performance as we started the game really well and controlled it and we got our goals. I thought we controlled it in the second half but we didn’t get the goals and they still sat back even at 3-0. It was hard for us to sort of get the space we needed but we obviously had some chances.”
Celtic TV: In the first period, Celtic had 80 per cent plus possession how impressed were you with the persistence and tempo that the team played at to get the breakthrough?
Ange Postecoglou: “That was the key for us and we kind of knew the way the game was going to go. We had to maintain our composure but at the same time not let them get comfortable. We persistently had to probe and try and find ways through and we consistently asked the question. We got our rewards for that.”
Celtic TV: Greg Taylor has had a fantastic season and he was the man of the match tonight. That was a very important opening goal, wasn’t it?
Ange Postecoglou: “Yeah, it was. He has been fantastic this year. He is continuing to improve and continuing to learn and he gets into these good areas and he can finish which helps us. In a game like tonight, the opposition will try and negate our obvious threats. The beauty of it is that we are sharing the goals around and it is not just our attacking players but everyone is contributing.”
Celtic TV: Daizen Maeda has a nice knack for being in the right place at the right time but that is not by accident is it? That is down to determination.
Ange Postecoglou: “That’s exactly right he is always in the right areas. He was tonight and a couple of other times he just lacked a little bit of composure in that front third as he continually gets in those positions. He is a constant menace and he is continually making those runs and always going to be in the areas where he is supposed to be and that’s why he gets his goals.”
Celtic TV: Composure is a word that I can use for Kyogo were you always confident he was going to score when he got that opportunity?
Ange Postecoglou: “I thought he was great tonight and he made some great runs. When you have got a team that plays so deep you need somebody who can break the line and he did it consistently. Every time we found him he was a threat and he took his goal really well and he continues his goalscoring form.”
Celtic TV: Did you take a sharp intake of breath when Callum McGregor went down? He does not go down lightly and you took him off late in the game was that just a precaution?
Ange Postecoglou: “Yes. He took a whack on the nose but he’s fine. We just thought we would give Tomoki (Iwata) a bit of a run and he gets a few more minutes. If we can get some minutes into these guys who have just come in then it will help us down the stretch.”
