THERE has been much to please Ange Postecoglou during the opening matches of Celtic’s Champions League group stage experience, though there will be frustration too, and an acknowledgment that there is still plenty of room for improvement.
The draw his team more than earned against Shakhtar Donetsk in Warsaw on Wednesday evening gave them a welcome maiden point on the board, but a failure to make the most of the numerous chances they created in a dominant display also left a tinge of regret.
That was evidenced by the mixed emotions expressed by the players as they trooped through the mixed press zone to the team bus after the game, but the most consistent theme from the dressing room is that their performances against Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk have only heightened their belief they can compete at this level, even if they haven’t yielded the rewards they feel they deserved.
Aaron Mooy was one of those who came on in Warsaw to aid the frantic late push by Celtic to grasp all three points, and he is as puzzled as anyone within the squad how they didn’t manage to convert at least one of the opportunities they fashioned during those closing stages.
But he is far from discouraged. Quite the opposite, in fact, with the Celtic players growing in belief as they grow into Group F.
“I’m a bit older, so maybe it’s a bit different for the younger guys, but we believe in ourselves and that is what you have to have to do if you want to compete at this level and try to win games,” Mooy said. “I thought we did quite well [against Shakhtar]. We created lots and enough chances to win the game and we just lacked a little bit of composure and concentration when we had the chances. That’s all it was.
“There was a bit [of frustration]. It was a bit similar to Real Madrid in that we had good chances and we didn’t put them away and it was a bit disappointing that we didn’t get a win.
“The manager was quite happy. He said the second half was good and that he was proud of us all for giving everything we had. Like I said before, we were just lacking that little bit of the finishing touch.
“We are playing against the best teams in Europe, so every point is well earned and I think we maybe could have earned a little bit more. But you take a point and move forward.”
That lack of a finishing touch was something of a recurring theme over the opening two group stage matches, and will have to be addressed if Celtic are to mount a challenge to Shakhtar and RB Leipzig for second place in the section behind likely winners Real Madrid.
Those nagging regrets though haven’t soured the collective experience of being back at the top table for Celtic after five seasons on the outside looking in. Mooy has waited even longer to be a part of it, and though he is still occupying something of a supporting role from the bench as he settles into life at the club, the summer signing is making the most of every Champions League minute Postecoglou gives him on the pitch.
“It’s amazing,” he said.
“I’m loving it. Every time they play that song…I always dreamt of hearing that music when I was playing. Even when I am coming on in the matches, it’s still an amazing feeling.
“You watch Champions League on the TV growing up and you hear the song and you think ‘one day could you imagine playing in that?’
“But, when you get on the field, you don’t think about it, you just think about playing football and doing what you do every day and every week.”
What gives Mooy even more encouragement is what he is seeing every day from his teammates, with the 32-year-old in awe of the levels the young players in particular are showing at such an early stage in their careers.
As well as he thinks Celtic are currently playing, that gives him heart there is even more to come from this team in the future.
“There is so much talent in the squad,” he said. “I try to think back about what I was doing at their age and I wasn't that good.
“It was maybe 10 years ago. I try to think to then for me and I wasn’t that good
"Is it a fearlessness? Yeah, it is just a belief inside, I think. You never stop improving, so all of these guys can go to very high levels if they keep working.
“When I was that young, I wasn’t that good, but if you keep working that hard, you can get to a decent level.
"But these guys have already started at a high level. That shows they can go all the way.”
