Cautious Ange Postecoglou knows the dangers of cup football as he's warned his stars to be on their toes against Kilmarnock this weekend.
Defending champions Celtic face Killie at Hampden looking to move onto the Viaplay Cup Final where they would face either Rangers or Aberdeen but Aussie boss Postecoglou certainly isn't looking that far ahead just yet. The Hoops are flying but the FA Cup at the weekend showed form often goes out the window in the cups, with various Premier League sides sent packing as Stevenage beat Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday eliminated Newcastle among a number of surprise results.
Parkhead boss Postecoglou had a close eye on that action and knows Kilmarnock will be taking inspiration from it when they head to Glasgow's south side for the semi-final showdown this weekend. He told Celtic TV: “You just have to look at what happened down south in the FA Cup over the weekend and cup football in general, I’ve been around long enough to know that there’s always a different element to it.
“I think it allows players to play with less fear even though there’s so much on edge because when you aren’t expected to win you have nothing to lose. It’s not like you’re losing three points and falling behind in the table. You give it all out there and see what comes of it and we need to be ready to deal with that and have the same sort of mentality.
"It’s a unique situation where you’re playing the same team (after beating Killie last weekend). I’ve no doubt Derek McInnes will have his team up for it and we have to be ready and we’ll be up for it as well.”
It hasn't been all plain-sailing for Celtic this season with disappointment in Europe and one blotch on their otherwise spotless league record. But Postecoglou reckons his team are making strong progress and is hoping for another step forward at Hampden.
“You take into account Champions League football and the fixture schedule, I see the real progression," he added. "Obviously we had the blip against St Mirren, but we’re still evolving and getting stronger and post the break we’ve had some of our strongest performances. So that’s the pleasing aspect and we need to keep doing that until the end of the year."
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