ANGE POSTECOGLOU may insist that his team never stop, but unfortunately for the Celtic manager, sometimes the league does. The challenge he has laid down to his players is to ensure the hiatus caused by the World Cup doesn’t also halt their charge towards another Premiership title.
Celtic will take up that fight this lunchtime against Aberdeen at Pittodrie, but Postecoglou won’t be satisfied by his team simply picking up where they left off in mid-November, when a win over Ross County ensured they could bask in the warmth of a nine-point lead at the top of the table, as well as the Australian and Portuguese sunshine, during their enforced lay-off.
Instead, he has told his players he expects them to ratchet their performances up a notch, and make sure they don’t take their foot from the throat of domestic opposition who have so far found it difficult to live with his team.
“The key for us is that we’ve had a really strong start to the season, but we want to really now take it up another level and be really strong for the next bit,” Postecoglou said.
“This is the important part of the season. We’ve had a good build-up to this game and most of the squad are up and ready and in good physical condition, so we’re looking forward to it.
“You have to [keep trying to get better]. That’s my responsibility with these players. A lot of them are still in the early stages of their careers and there’s so much more in them.
“My role is to keep pushing them to reach their potential and, if we do that, we’ll get to where we want to as a team.
“But we are still very much a team in development. We are 18 months into creating this team and the way we want to play and there has to be better ahead.
“We must be looking to get stronger. That is our aim and our ambition and, irrespective of past form and past results, what is key for us is what is ahead.”
Celtic travel to Pittodrie boosted by the return of captain Callum McGregor, who is back in the squad following his lay-off with a knee injury suffered in October’s Champions League defeat in Leipzig.
“The boys did a fantastic job covering for him,” Postecoglou said. “Both in terms of on the field with performances and also with influence. Boys like Joe Hart, Cameron (Carter-Vickers) and Greg Taylor have all stepped up during his absence.
“Look, Callum is a fantastic footballer, so we’re getting a quality player back into our team. He’s our leader, so it’s great for us.
“All the boys are looking forward to him being back out there and I’m sure that he is as well.
“You have to be sensible about these things and Callum knows his body better than anyone. We always knew that, whatever timeline they gave, he would push it .
“I think the break helped us there because it took away a bit of time pressure for him to get back, even in his own mind. He’d set his stall out to be back after the break and having the weeks has been helpful.
“He’s worked awfully hard away from the group and now with the group over the past couple of weeks.”
While James McCarthy and Stephen Welsh will miss out through injury, Postecoglou will also welcome back three of his four World Cup stars in Carter-Vickers, Aaron Mooy and Daizen Maeda.
“They are all great,” he said.
“We gave them a week off. All our players who didn’t go to the World Cup had a week off and the World Cup players who were there, once their country exited, they had a week off as well.
“All had a really positive experience there, they all contributed to their countries and made impacts which is great for us.
“They are all back to contribute here again.”
They may soon be joined by more new recruits, with Postecoglou hinting that his transfer business for the winter window may not be concluded with the arrivals of Alistair Johnston and Yuki Kobayashi, joking that he will be keeping chief executive Michael Nicholson and financial director Chris McKay busy over the festive season.
“We’re still working on a few things,” he said. “Whether they will happen or not, we will see.
“If I feel something is there that will make us stronger then, as much as Michael and Chris may want to have a quiet Christmas, I’m going to keep them working over that time and keep them on their toes!
“We’re still working on things. No guarantee what will happen, but we’ve not even hit January yet, so we’ll see how things transpire.
“But it’s great to get Alistair and Yuki in. They have a couple of weeks to settle before they are available, and we’ll see what else transpires over the next few weeks.”
Meanwhile, Postecoglou took his ‘we don’t stop’ mantra out onto the frozen roads around Lennoxtown yesterday, being pictured helping a motorist who was stuck near the Celtic training ground.
“The weather was terrible and, to be fair, there was a young lady and a couple of nice young men who were out there helping another stranded motorist,” he said.
“I think I was there for motivation. They couldn’t stop while I was there and that’s one area I can help in. I wouldn’t be any good chasing down anyone, but I just did my bit. It’s tricky driving in these conditions, so I was happy to help out.
“It’s not stuff I would have thought about [doing that morning]. If I did, I wouldn’t be running around in my Celtic tracksuit pushing cars around the place!
“That’s just life. We all live life. We are human beings and, if we can be kind to one another, that makes the world a better place.”
