Ange Postecoglou

Do we know if Postecoglou simply picks the positions that need strengthened, and leaves everything else to the scouts and Nicholson, or is he more involved in the acquisition of players?

 

Think the put a number in a hat then go from there mate

 

Unless I'm misunderstanding his role, I don't think Nicholson is involved in the identification of players. He's more a negotiations and closing the deal type of guy.

From what I've previously heard/read, Ange is usually very involved when it comes to player acquisitions (which makes sense given that a large portion of our signings have come from a league he has first-hand experience in) plus I have little doubt that he has the final say over signings. I would suspect a portion are brought to his attention though, and these probably consist of 2 groups:

1) Players who have been recommended based on criteria outlined by Ange. Apparently Lawell Jr. was good at identifying these targets when they were together in Japan.

2) Players recommended by scouts or the club whose signing is considered beneficial for whatever reason. Think McCarthy, Shaw, Urhoghide, Scales, etc. Again, Ange would very likely be signing off on these, but they weren't necessarily signings made to fill a particular hole (apart from McCarthy, who was brought in at a time where we were building a new team and didn't even have a full squad)

 

I see. I asked because he's repeatedly stated he doesn't really involve himself himself with transfers, and that he leaves (probably negotiation) things to Nicholson. I'm sure he asked for specific players (J-League raids, GG and Mooy), but I was wondering how much was he telling the truth when he was being asked about Korean strikers.

 

Totally agree

 

Everything Ange Postecoglou had to say to club television in the immediate aftermath of Celtic's 4-0 SPFL Premiership win over St Mirren at Parkhead...

How pleased were you with that outing tonight?

Yeah, it was good. Good all-round effort, really solid, started the game well at a good tempo and scored some really nice goals. Credit to the lads I thought it was a really strong, disciplined performance.

Are you pleased with Yuki Kobayashi's debut?

Yeah, I mean like I said before the game he's only a young guy, still getting to grips with football here and life here. But I thought he handled himself well. They're a physical team, they're pretty direct and he had to deal with a few things. I think he showed his qualities on the ball and he'll get better from that.

Reo Hatate set up Kyogo Furuhashi for a world-class finish...

Brilliant, yeah. I think Kyogo's been on fire for quite a while but it's just his movement, and the quality of his finishing is always there. Yeah, I was really, really pleased with the quality of our goals tonight. Two trademark Kyogo goals, a set-piece and then even Dave (Turnbull's) great strike so, yeah, really good goals.


Were you pleased to see that first-time delivery into the box?

Yeah look, I mean it's stuff we work on consistently and I don't think it's a secret to anyone but, you know, it's pretty hard to stop when we're moving the ball that quickly and our movements are sharp. I thought some of our football tonight in not easy conditions was good. And Saturday took a fair bit out of the boys and I thought the energy of the new guys brought in and the intensity of the rest was good.

You have a Scottish Cup tie coming up early on Saturday (vs Morton). Can we expect to see shuffling of the plaque for London again?

Yeah, well, look at how everyone pulls up from it. Obviously, it's a short turnaround with a Saturday game and it's a lunchtime game as well so we'll look at it to see who's looking good at training, who's feeling good. Certainly we've got some players we can definitely bring in. All the guys who came on tonight added some energy and I'm sure they'll do that on the weekend too.

 

Ange Postecoglou was delighted to get revenge on St Mirren as Celtic secured an important three points in the Scottish Premiership title race.

Kyogo Furuhashi grabbed a double while Liel Abada and David Turnbull also scored in a dominant 4-0 victory over St Mirren at Parkhead.

It was a revenge mission for Celtic, who suffered their only domestic defeat of the season to Saints earlier in the campaign, and Postecoglou told of his delight after putting the shock result to rest.

He said: “Yeah, it was good. Good all-round effort, really solid, started the game well at a good tempo and scored some really nice goals. Credit to the lads I thought it was a really strong, disciplined performance.

“I think Kyogo's been on fire for quite a while but it's just his movement, and the quality of his finishing is always there. Yeah, I was really, really pleased with the quality of our goals tonight. Two trademark Kyogo goals, a set-piece and then even Dave (Turnbull's) great strike so, yeah, really good goals.


“It's stuff we work on consistently and I don't think it's a secret to anyone but, you know, it's pretty hard to stop when we're moving the ball that quickly and our movements are sharp.

“I thought some of our football tonight in not easy conditions was good. And Saturday took a fair bit out of the boys and I thought the energy of the new guys brought in and the intensity of the rest was good.”

Postecoglou also handed a debut to Yuki Kobayashi who impressed. He continued: “I mean like I said before the game he's only a young guy, still getting to grips with football here and life here.

“But I thought he handled himself well. They're a physical team, they're pretty direct and he had to deal with a few things. I think he showed his qualities on the ball and he'll get better from that.”

Looking ahead to Morton in the Scottish Cup on Saturday, Postecoglou revealed that he could make a number of changes.

He added: “Yeah, well, look at how everyone pulls up from it. Obviously, it's a short turnaround with a Saturday game and it's a lunchtime game as well so we'll look at it to see who's looking good at training, who's feeling good.

“Certainly we've got some players we can definitely bring in. All the guys who came on tonight added some energy and I'm sure they'll do that on the weekend too.”

 

Wit the * is this? Is it meant to be funny or serious?

 

A raging Hun trying to be funny

 

Never knew that about @Double Dutch. Explains a lot.

 

Do not post that * again fs, * abomination

Outrageous

 

Whit the * I thought I was on swallow swallow forum for a minute and that sounds like that ohitsteely think that's his name .

 

You should go look in the mirror posting that *.

 

That is * brutal hahahaha

 

Hun memes are always atrocious. Have to admit though, this one did get me.

 

I hear John Barnes - manager extraordinaire - has been bumping his gums about Ange taking any old move south as it would be a ‘step up’…

…. from the step that he couldn’t negotiate himself.

*

 

Everything Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou had to say in his pre-match press conference ahead of the match against Morton.

Where are we with transfers is there anyone imminently coming into the club?

At the moment there is progress with incomings and outgoings but nothing confirmed yet. We are obviously getting to the tail end of the window and I expect progress over the next few days.

In terms of Giorgos (Giakoumakis) do you still see him being a Celtic player at the end of January?

Until I hear otherwise I expect them all to be Celtic players. There has been some progress with all those kinds of issues and we will see how it all plays out.

On your squad for tomorrow, is everyone fighting fit? Is there anybody back? Is there anybody struggling?

In terms of Wednesday night Cameron Carter-Vickers has improved but we'll leave him out tomorrow. Giakoumakis trained today and we'll wait and see how he pulls up from training. Anthony Ralston had a setback at training yesterday so he will miss tomorrow. Benjamin Siegrist has missed the last two to three weeks with a calf complaint. He was back in training today but again it's too early for tomorrow. Everyone else from Wednesday night is okay.


Do you see this game as an opportunity to rotate your squad and how beneficial is it to do that as you have so much talent at your disposal and this gives you a chance to give everyone some valuable game time?

Tomorrow is an opportunity to win a game of football. That's what we are going to try and do and I'll pick a team that does that. We haven't gone into any game or rarely have unchanged from the week before anyway. Game time is earned not given. The beauty of it for me is that everybody who is getting an opportunity at the moment is taking it and doing really well. The selection tomorrow will be based on one thing and that is that we want to progress in the cup. We will put a line-up out there that we believe will do that.

Reports from Suwon suggest that you are close to an agreement on Oh Hyeon-gyu. What can you say on that one?

There is progress on incomings and outgoings. It is much the same as I have said before. Nothing is confirmed yet. From my perspective, the status quo exists at the moment in regard to both players coming in and players leaving. All of it will get confirmed either way in the coming days as we countdown to the end of the window.




What would he (Oh Hyeon-gyu) offer as a player if he were on Celtic's radar and a move was to come to fruition?

The same as any other hypothetical question about a player you give to me or you offer me. I wouldn't bring them here unless I believe I thought they could contribute.

As a manager in Scotland do you enjoy the cups because you play teams four times a season in the league and you get to know them well? Do you like coming up against fresh opposition, fresh coaches and fresh tactics? Is that something you enjoy?

That's the same with cup competitions in general. You may play the same opposition as you saw that last week when we played Kilmarnock in the league and in the cup. There is always more of an edge in cup games and you kind of know that the result is everything. Obviously, you want to perform well and you want to play the football that has got you to that stage. Ultimately cup football is about the result. That is all that matters in the end. Every time they come around you realise that it is going to be a different experience and a different environment from the league irrespective of your opponent that's the first thing. Even for the players, I think they realise there is always a different sort of edge to games where you know the consequences are a lot starker than the league games. We are looking forward to it, particularly at home as we have not had too many home cup fixtures since I came here so it's good to have one at home where we can hopefully put on a strong performance.




You said Anthony Ralston had a setback is that a serious one?

He had a back complaint that kept him out for two or three weeks after one of the games he played. He kind of trained leading into Wednesday's game and was on the bench but it still didn't feel right. So he had a scan and I don't know the outcome of it but I don't think it's serious but it is something that might put him back another week or two.

You are nine points clear at the top of the league, you are in the final of the League Cup and the Scottish Cup starts tomorrow. How well placed do you feel Celtic are to go all the way on all three fronts?

We'll see that with the outcomes of all those things you just said. At the moment we are travelling well, we are playing well, and the results have been good. We are getting contributions from the whole squad. All the players are feeling good about themselves. Right at this moment we are in a good place to put in a strong performance tomorrow beyond that mate, we'll see what happens.

Talking about the strength of the squad, the lack of injuries and the good run that you are on do you feel that you are better placed this year as you went really close last year winning two cups and getting to the semi-final of the Scottish Cup. Do you feel you are in a better place this year to try and improve on that?

We always try and improve. I have said that from day one. Are we better placed this year? I believe we are a better side this year than we were this time last year. My role is to make sure that keeps happening. If I am sitting here in a year's time then there should have been the same sort of progress. It will be the same at the finish of our season. We want to play our best football between now and the end of the season. We think we did last year as we certainly finished the season stronger and that is our aim and our ambition for this year as well.


Are you expecting a defensive performance from Morton?

I think so. It is something we have to try and counter, particularly here at Parkhead. They are going to come here to try and cause an upset. To do that, they know they will have to fight hard and defend against us. We just have to be prepared for whatever happens out there. For us, we need to focus on the key fundamentals of our game and make sure we dominate in the areas we want to. Particularly at Celtic Park we know if we are aggressive then we are difficult to stop.

Is there an extra incentive to win as given you did not lift the Scottish Cup?

No more than any other time or in any other competition. It is part of the role here that you try to win everything and there is no greater incentive or lesser incentive when it comes to repeating success or tasting success we have never had before. The desire and ambition is there to be as successful as we possibly can.




Is tomorrow's game the type of match in which we could see youth players get a chance?

As I have said before, opportunities are earned and nothing is given. If one of the players from the B team gets an opportunity, it is because they have earned it, not because I feel they need to be given time. Bosun Lawal and Rocco Vata have been involved in and around the first team for quite a while now. Unfortunately, Rocco Vata has picked up a little bit of an injury so he will be out for a little while. I am really happy with the progress the B team is making. Darren [O'Dea] and Stephen [McManus] are doing a really good job. I don't just think we are developing some good players down there but we are also developing some good coaches. Over the next 6-12 months, I expect some of those players to get opportunities. Not because I am kind-hearted, mate, it is because it will have been earned.

 

Will be a sore yin the day ange leaves man!