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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Aidan Macdonald

Postecoglou insists Celtic 'don't' need any extra motivation ahead of semi-final

Ange Postecoglou insists Celtic "don't" need any extra motivation ahead of the Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers.

Both teams dropped points in the most recent round of Premiership fixtures, with the champions drawing 1-1 at home to Motherwell and the Ibrox side losing 2-0 against Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

Despite Postecoglou’s men not picking up the win, they did extend their lead at the top of the league table by a point, meaning they are just one win away from retaining the title, which they will have the chance to do against Hearts at Tynecastle

Before that, though, they face their Glasgow rivals at Hampden for the second time in just over two months and the Australian stressed that his team are looking forward to the occasion.

Speaking to Celtic TV, he said: "It is going to be a really good game in terms of it having everything on it.

"Both teams know the consequences of not being successful on the day so it will have everything you normally expect from a Cup semi-final and it is one we are looking forward to.

"This time of year, they are all big games and you want to be involved in them instead of sitting home and watching them. 

"I am looking forward to it. We don't need motivation for Sunday. It is always there. Every game we want to try and be the team we aspire to be.”

The draw with Stuart Kettlewell’s side brought to an end a run of 17 straight victories for Celtic in all competitions.

And while the 57-year-old was left frustrated at the result, he feels it gives his team some room to improve.

“In the game against Motherwell, we know that it was disappointing in both the result and the performance but that there is a learning moment there for us," he continued.

"We have been pretty good at learning things along the way while winning games of football which is not easy.

"We obviously didn't do some things in the last match as well as we wanted to. There is a chance for us to improve on that with the context that the group has been outstanding for a long time.”

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