Ange Postecoglou burst out laughing when asked about the introduction of VAR to the Scottish Premiership this weekend.
The video technology makes its debut north of the border at Easter Road tonight when Hibs take on St Johnstone. Celtic will have it in place for their trip to Tynecastle to face Hearts on Saturday lunchtime. Much has been made of VAR finally being rolled out in Scotland and controversy still surrounds the decision to introduce it after the season has already started.
But Postecoglou insists he couldn’t care less and doesn;t understand the excitement around it. The Hoops boss believes the best outcome for everyone is if it isn’t actually used this weekend, as it means the refs are getting their on-field calls spot on. The Aussie only cares about how his team play and whether or not they get three points in the capital after racking up the goals in midweek.
“I’ve never seen so much excitement for something that’s so…mate, I'm totally ambivalent to it,” he said after a burst if laughter.”I think the best outcome for VAR this weekend is if we don’t use it. It means all the decisions are right.
“It’s like an exciting new signing or something - that stuff doesn’t rock my boat mate. I know others are really excited by it and good luck to them. But I doubt anyone’s buying an admission ticket to see what VAR does this weekend.They’ll be there to watch the football. Hopefully anyway.
“VAR is only there if the referee’s missed something. Hopefully the referees don’t miss anything major and the game just plays. It’s not there as a star attraction for the afternoon or evening. So if we don't see then I’ll be the happiest man in Scotland, but everyone else seems to be really excited by it anyway.”
It was then head on the desk when asked if VAR would change how he coaches. Postecoglou said: “No, listen, I;ve been here 16 months now. How many times have I mentioned referees after a game?
“I know it’s a favourite subject up here and after a game it’s the main talking point but it just does not interest me in the slightest. The best referees are the ones we don’t notice because the game is more important and I’m sure the referees prefer it that way as well.
“But no, I’m not excited, it’s not going to change my coaching. It’s not going to change how I talk to the players.
“Taking away the joining about it, we have experienced it. We’ve had it in Europe so it’s part of our process.”
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