Another matchday is around the corner for Celtic after a bumper week and Ange Postecoglou has only got eyes on Hibs.
Lee Johnson's side have found it tough against the Premiership champions this season, who head into tomorrow's clash at Parkhead boasting a lead of nine points out in first. That will either be cut down to six or eight come kick-off or potentially it will stay the same, depending on how Rangers get on at Motherwell in the lunchtime kick-off.
But Postecoglou won't be bothered by that as they head into their encounter facing off against a Hibs team they've stuck 10 goals past in two league games so far this term, alongside a stingy four points dropped all term. Amid international snubs and mysteries, he was fielding a catalogue of questions at his press conference but one theme emerged. Here, Record Sport takes a look at the main talking points from the Celtic boss.
International confusion solved
There were fears over an injury for Greg Taylor and Cameron Carter-Vickers after Scotland and USA national team bosses respectivley opted not to include them in their national team squads. But Postecoglou says that's a call made purely on their end, and that Taylor will start against Hibs.
He said: "Like all the international players we provide all the relevant information to the national teams and it's up to them to decide whether they call the players up or not. From our perspective, Greg's available and he'll play tomorrow and it's the same with Cameron (Carter-Vickers).
"It's the same with all these international players before they go away, we give the relevant information and then it's up to the nation, their medical team and the manager to then decide whether they call them up or they decide that they leave them this time for rehab purposes."
Martindale brushed off
Livingston manager David Martindale suggested this week the idea of Premiership expansion, and further opportunities for youngsters in Scotland's top flight. Postecoglou was asked for his views but wasn't in the mood with so much going on recently in Glasgow.
Focusing on matters at home, the Australian said: "I think David's probably got a lot more time during the week to be considering these things mate. It's not a subject that I'm going to be spending too much time thinking about at this present time.
"I think if there's a broader discussion at the appropriate time, then yes. We had a three-game week last week and we've got another game tomorrow and beyond that, I haven't had a lot of time to think of other things."
Not fussy
The fact that 10 goals have been put past Hibs this season is not lost on Postecoglou. But he insists that every match brings its own challenges and that Johnson's men will be as stern as the others they've faced.
"We enjoy playing every team, mate," the former Socceroos boss quipped. "We enjoy playing every game and there are no teams we like playing or there are certainly any teams we don't like playing.
"Every game is an opportunity for us to play our football and make sure that you know we maintain the standards and performances and improve on them. So, it's another challenge for us against Hibs and they're they've been a good run of form lately.
"Obviously, the last game didn't go well for them but prior to that they've been seven unbeaten and I think they brought in some good young talent during January window, and it will be a good challenge for us. We treat every opponent with the same respect and we go into every game looking to play our football.
Mooy decision
One player who will be out of the Hibs match is Aaaron Mooy, who has picked up a knock ahead of going back to Australia with his nation. His manager was asked whether duty was still likely for his midfield technician but cards were kept closet to his chest, adding: Again, that'll be up to the national team.
"During FIFA international windows, even if a player is injured the national teams have the right to call them up and assess them themselves. We just provide the information and leave the decision up to the national teams."
Foundations laid
Last season, Celtic had to claw back a deficit in order to claim title glory away to Dundee United, which is a different scenario from this season where they have led the pack throughout most of this year. Postecoglou won't take any lessons from last season's home straight into this, instead focusing on his key principles.
Explaining his thinking, the 57-year-old commented: "I think from our perspective everywhere I've gone in terms of building teams, the process is fairly similar respective of the league. The first year is always building the foundation, then working on some really strong core principles around our football, our environment, our culture, our people, all these kind of things and you use that first year to try and as much as possible to create a framework that then allows you in year two, year three and beyond to then improve and evolve as a team.
"Nothing really changed with me coming here. Probably last year there was more urgency around the fact that we needed to be successful, it couldn't just be a building year and I was conscious of that when I took the role. There are a few things we kind of tried to fast track and we were able to because the players we bought in really hit the ground running, which allowed us to build some strong foundations but also have success.
"The process has been the same wherever I've been and I think if you look at my history at club level, even at international level the first year has always been about building some strong foundations and then beyond that, it's just about keeping the team play, and evolving to levels where they can continue to have success. "
