Ange Postecoglou spoke to Celtic TV this morning before doing an interview with Sky Sports who obviously are broadcasting the Dundee United v Celtic match in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday lunchtime.
🏆 Ange Postecoglou gives his thoughts on our Champions League Group F opposition🤔
🇪🇸 Real Madrid
🇩🇪 RB Leipzig
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— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) August 26, 2022
Then the Celtic manager’s media duties continued when he attended his usual pre-match Media conference which was attended by both the mainstream media and the Celtic fan media, who as usual asked the last four questions, although the final question today did come from the MSM as a helpful afterthought as no-one had asked Ange for an injury update ahead of trip to Tannadice.
It’s a point we’ve made repeatedly but the Celtic fan media questions tend to be more interesting and Ange certainly seems happier to provide more detailed answers. And if we exclude that final question from calculations then the fan media have had four questions to the mainstream media’s ten. Not insignificant. The fan media questions are from 11-14.
Q1: What is your reaction to the Champions League draw?
Ange Postecoglou: “Firstly, I am excited to be in it. You want our football club to be amongst the top teams in Europe. There is a real sense of anticipation and excitement at the draw. After it, you know, irrespective of the teams we are up against, there is a challenge before us. From our perspective, we are really excited about what is ahead.”
Q2: A lot of players wanted Real Madrid. Does it really get any better than that?
Ange Postecoglou: “Yeah, that fixture is a special one. It is a club we have not played for a very long time. For our supporters and everyone at the football club, it is an exciting chance to test ourselves against the reigning champions and a team steeped in the strongest of traditions in this competition.”
Q3: It is 11 days until the first game. You have drawn some big teams. Are you confident you can pick up some points and get out of the group?
Ange Postecoglou: “We have not played a game yet, mate. Once we start, we will address that as we go along. We will address each fixture as it comes. We have three important games before that. We want to go into those games in good form and feel good about ourselves. Once we get through our next three games, hopefully in strong form, then we will see who is first up and will tackle that. To start looking beyond that is not something you can do in this competition. You have to focus on your next opponent, or you will not get past them.”
Q4: To ask you about the new signing Sead Haksabanovic, what do you think he can bring to the team?
Ange Postecoglou: “He is a good player who has relatively good experience for someone who is a young age. He can fill a number of spots in our system. He is really determined and ambitious to have a strong career for himself and I think from my perspective it is all about how I think the player can fit into our style of play, which he does.
“Also, I look at what sort of person they are and what sort of motivation it is that they have. As soon as we showed interest, he was more than keen to make the move happen. He was really keen to join our football club and I think he will be a good asset for us in terms of depth for the front half of our team.”
Q5: Going back to the draw, you mentioned the Real Madrid tie being special. You have spoken before about the impact Ferenc Puskas had on your life as well as your career. Does this make the tie extra special?
Ange Postecoglou: “I do not know about extra significance. I think everyone involved in that game would say it is significant. I was blessed to have Ferenc Puskas as my manager for three years, and I asked as many questions as I could about his Real Madrid experience. Not just because it was a fantastic team but also because they have established themselves as one of the world’s greatest sides.
“It is a shame he is not around to see it, as I think he would have taken great pride in seeing someone he had a huge influence over lead a side out against them. We want to be in the Champions League to test ourselves against the best, and that is what we will be doing.”
Q6: You have mentioned you have a number of important league games before you get into the Champions League. Is it difficult to keep the players’ minds off the draw?
Ange Postecoglou: “No, mate. The reason we are in this position is that we are champions of our league and we have earned this right. We must always respect that if you are not performing to a high level regardless of the competition, then there is no point looking ahead as you will end up struggling.
“Our boys are focused. We trained this morning, and it was as competitive as always because the boys know we have three big games before the first group stage match. There will be no one here saving themselves for those fixtures. The environment will not allow for that. The way to make sure this experience of playing at the top level is fulfilling is to make sure you are best prepared.”
Q7: It is a hectic run of games coming up. Is this where the strength of your squad comes to the fore?
Ange Postecoglou: “I hope so. The whole thinking behind our recruitment strategy for this window was to have a squad that can compete in every competition. So far, we have only had a game a week, and I have not made too many changes to the line-up. We have worked really hard in training to make sure the team is prepared. This week we have three games, and it is the same after the international break. It is a lot of games, and we are going to need everyone in the squad to be at a good level to compete.”
Q8: Can I ask you about the form of Dundee United at the moment who are struggling?
Ange Postecoglou: “They are struggling, but that is the nature of football. If you had said to me a couple of weeks ago after they beat AZ at home, would they be in this situation? I would have said ‘no’. That is the nature of football it can change quickly.
“We’ve got to be ready for that. We have got to ignore the fact that they are struggling and think they are going to come out sort of weakened. We are going to make sure that we are preparing as we always do for them to be at their best and to make it difficult. Last year we had a challenge down there, particularly in the last away game where we had to win the league they gave us a really strong game, and we know it is not going to be an easy fixture, and it’s important that we continue on our form.”
Q9: The game against Real Madrid at Celtic Park will be a great occasion, but where does managing in the Bernabeu rank in your career?
Ange Postecoglou: “I never look at it that way and all these kinds of things, and I keep saying the same thing to the players you can experience these things, but usually, you remember them if it is a positive experience. There is no point in saying I’ve done this and I’ve done that, and I am not like that.
“What is important is that we go there and we have a positive experience and to do that we have to go there and play some good football against the best and that’s when it becomes meaningful. To be fair, you can pay for a tour of the Bernabeu – anyone can do that – as an experience, it is not that unique.
“What you want to do is make sure that when you have these opportunities, and that’s what I have tried to do all my career, as I have said to the players, it is better to swap shirts with a player after you have knocked them off and beaten them rather than just grabbing another shirt for your collection.”
Q10: A lot of your fellow managers have been talking about refereeing decisions and the introduction of VAR, and what do you think of the fact that it is coming in?
Ange Postecoglou: “I have had some experience with VAR. I had it in Japan, and I had it when I was the national team boss, and we had it in Europe last year for us as a club, so I’m well versed in it.
“It should be implemented in the Scottish game, and I think every league in the world will have it sooner rather than later. My view on that is the same as it has always been if you think that refereeing decisions are that important and change games, then VAR isn’t going to change your outlook. I have never worried about that stuff.
“Even with VAR, there are going to be mistakes made. There are going to be things missed. Our football club and I, in particular, have never focused on that and worrying and allowing that to judge our outcomes. If a decision goes against us, it goes against us. Our job is to get on with it, and it will be the same with VAR.
“I think the people who talk about refereeing decisions today will still be talking about them when VAR is around. The ones who don’t won’t when VAR is around.”
Q11: In the games you have played domestically this season, the team has been consistently finding solutions against opponents who defend, in the up-and-coming derby and in the Champions League, you will play teams who press you higher and more aggressively, giving you less time on the ball, can you elaborate on how you might prepare the team differently to face different style that you might not face domestically?
Ange Postecoglou: “I guess that is always the challenge. It is not always the case either, sometimes people assume that if you look at our Champions League draw and even theRangers game, they don’t necessarily come out and press aggressively, and some of them are set up as counter-attacking teams. We have just got to be prepared for whatever happens, and we try and train every day in a certain way that gives the players different challenges.
“With respect to our build-up play or our execution in the final third because as you said, there may be teams who press us more aggressively, and we work on that in training, and the opposite of that is that if teams do that, then we get the opportunity to hit them on the counter-attack as well as we have got some really aggressive and dynamic forwards.
“That’s how we execute the front third, too, so it works at both ends. We try and work on that at training consistently, and if we haven’t been challenged in a certain way in a number of games, then our emphasis on training is on if things change, how we would cope with it. We are constantly working on these things.”
Q12: Sead Haksabanovic – how quickly will he be ready, or are you targeting specific games, or do you want to just get him in and used to the system quickly?
Ange Postecoglou: “It is more about getting him adjusted to the physical levels we need. He has been training individually, and from our perspective, he is really keen to get involved straight away, and he trained with the group this morning. We have just got to be careful about what we introduce him to because the last thing we would want would be to put him in too early.
“I think in terms of the game style, he won’t have too much problem adapting. I have always tried to recruit players who I see fitting into our system, and you’ve seen that in the past with guys who are just thrown in, and they adjust pretty quickly. It is just a matter of the physical aspect to see how he tracks over the next few weeks in terms of his fitness levels and how he copes with our training.
“We would like to put him into games as early as we can, and he’d like to, but we have to make sure it’s the right time.”
Q13: Moritz Jenz spoke of winning the Champions League group, and Reo Hatate spoke of wanting to emulate Shunsuke Nakamura – how important is it to have a confident and ambitious squad when playing against Europe’s elite?
Ange Postecoglou: “It is important but ultimately, what is more, important is that you go in there with a belief in your football and in yourself. We never talk about outcomes here, it is always about performance. If we perform to the best of our ability then what that does is give us a chance to be successful. There is no point talking about winning things or accomplishing things without the performance first.
“Whether that is the Champions League or the Premiership or in any of the cups you have got to bring that level of performance. If you do then all these other things will take their course. Having a real belief in something and for us, that belief lies in our football that is where our players get their confidence from. They believe that if we play our football and play it to the best of our ability then it gives us a chance for success.”
Q14: You have been making strides for Australian coaches since you came to Celtic, last season you became the first Australian coach to win a Europa League match, and this season you will become the first Australian to manage in the Champions League – how does it make you feel to be breaking new ground for Australian coaches?
Ange Postecoglou: “It is not stuff that is at the front end of my consciousness, but I realise that everything I do kind of has an impact beyond me personally. We all have our own ambitions and what drives us, and certainly, from my perspective, I have built a career on trying to be as successful as I can wherever I have been, and I want that to continue for as long as I am doing what I am doing.”
“That is what kind of drives me. I do realise that I have had a greater impact, and I guess because I have come from another country, it will have a big impact in Australia. I think it will have a big impact here at this football club and in Scotland if we can have success in the biggest of competitions. We are always trying to lay down a marker, and all these other things are by-products of it. ”
Q15: Any injuries for Sunday?
Ange Postecoglou: “Everyone has trained and no injuries at this stage. Everybody got through last week, and there were no issues. Yosuke Ideguchi is back training with the group as well.”
