Ange Postecoglou has seen his Celtic stars answer every single title question so far. Now the biggest one of the lot is being posed.
And Postecoglou has no reason to doubt they will again provide the right response.
The Parkhead squad have done the hard yards. They fought back. They edged ahead and have extended their stride towards the finishing line.
Now it’s about crossing the Premiership line to grab the silver which is actually gold.
Postecoglou’s team lost on the opening night to Hearts. They were seven points behind at one stage and now are six in front.
Victory over Rangers on Sunday and it’s just about done.
Postecoglou has seen each examination passed to date and said: “All these things have been unique challenges. At the start of the year, the question was could we even challenge?
“Then it got to we’re good at chasing but what’s it like if we hit the front?
“Then it was everyone waits for a reaction but we’ve got stronger since then and extended our lead.
“All you can say at present is that the players have embraced every challenge and the key now and the question that everyone is asking is, ‘Can they bring it home?’ That’s the only question we need to answer.”
Of course it’s a huge one. Months of work and effort now comes down to the next fortnight. Celtic are
on the brink and the rewards are enormous.
Postecoglou could try to play it down to ease some tension but that’s not his way.
Instead he wants his players to embrace it and savour the situation. He said: “They understand it. For the most part, while it’s a first season for many at the club, they’ve been in several key games already.
“We’ve felt both success and failure, so they know about the different feelings and the impact if you win or you don’t.
“Every time you go through that experience it makes you stronger. And I’ve been really keen to expose this group of players as muc h as possible and not shield them from it.
“That’s because the one thing you know is that whatever happens this year the expectations will be the same when it starts next season, that we try to win every competition and every game.
“If the players have had those experiences and understood them it’s going to hold them in better stead than trying to shield or protect from something that is part of this football club. That you’re expected to play in big games and win them. That’s the beginning and end of it.”
Postecoglou knows all sides of the Old Firm experience. Two wins and two defeats since taking charge take him into
this title decider.
If it’s anything like the last one at Celtic Park he’ll be smiling by the end.
His team ran riot on home soil in February to win 3-0 and take a lead they have never relinquished, while Cameron Carter-Vickers got the winner in a 2-1 win at Ibrox earlier this month.
Postecoglou said: “I’m sure there will be a fantastic atmosphere again and our supporters will create something special for us. But all of these things depend on the outcome. We have to play our part.
“With that night at Celtic Park, our performance and the way we played added to the atmosphere.
“You need a combination of both. The off-field atmosphere has to be matched by energy and intensity on the field.”
Rangers are coming off a tiring European performance in Leipzig and changes might be made to the Light Blues set-up. But Postecoglou concentrates only on his own preparation.
He said: “That doesn’t mean we don’t analyse the opposition and every game has its own challenges. We put in the same preparation for Rangers as we did for Ross County last week and make sure our players understand what each side has to bring to the table.
“But our focus is on ourselves. The one thing we don’t want to do is change what we want to do and we prepare our players for that and that the answer lies within our football and our principles of play.
“I don’t think Giovanni van Bronckhorst spends too much time thinking about others and I don’t spend too much time on thinking about what other clubs are doing either. What’s important is that whatever the competition brings in terms of its strength, it’s our job to try and be better.”
With 34 games gone in the race, Celtic have been better than the rest. If he finishes the job off, those who doubted Postecoglou at the beginning will be proven incorrect.
But the Celtic boss said: “People were well within their rights to make their own assessments before they’d seen me work, or dismiss my prior achievements. There are plenty of managers who get jobs when there is universal appeal for them and then fail dismally for whatever reason.
“It’s not an exact formula. I have never felt the need to prove anything to anyone about my coaching or managerial ability.
“Irrespective of people’s thoughts, I knew we had to be successful this year one way or the other.
“We have the League Cup and now we have the chance to win the championship.
“If that happens, maybe I will have more people acknowledging the achievement but it won’t make any difference to me.”
