Ange Postecoglou doesn’t just feel joy at leading Celtic to trophies.
The manager also feels a deep sense of responsibility. Postecoglou says he’ll remember the day when he landed Celtic's 21st League Cup forever. But, as he did so in the presence of the likes of former boss Gordon Strachan, who he embraced after the game with a special hug after handshakes for the rest of the Viaplay Cup panel. Strachan has been a champion of Postecoglou and son Gavin makes up a vital part of his backroom team.
Postecoglou knows he needs to keep producing the triumphs, keep collecting the silverware. Keep creating magical moments just as those before him have done. After securing a third domestic trophy from four since he moved to Scotland, Postecoglou said: “I’m very pleased and proud of the players and staff. We have worked very hard for a long time and part of the process of working hard is to get rewarded for it so you can keep working hard. The boys get the reward which I think is well deserved for them.
“It’s not about me personally and how I feel. These are just the expectations at this club. I’m doing interviews with Gordon Strachan. Do you know how hard it is to follow guys like that?
“And Martin (O’Neill), Brendan (Rodgers) and Neil Lennon? This club is steeped in success so when you take the job you know that’s the responsibility.
“That doesn’t diminish the achievement. We still celebrate as we don’t take it for granted. You don’t just roll up in a Celtic shirt and it’s given to you. You have to earn it and we did.
”That’s the greatest thing for me is that everything we have got in the last 18 months or longer we have earned through hard work and a real belief. The overwhelming feeling is relief. People think you are jumping for joy, but it’s relief as you know how much it means to people. The players, everyone at the club and the supporters.
“You carry that burden for 95 minutes and when the final whistle goes. it’s just relief. Moments like this, you want to get the whole experience. You watch the players, the fans, what it means to them. I take great pride in it. It’s a day I’ll remember forever. We’ve been consistent for a very long time. We don’t let our standards slip in terms of our football.”
Celtic were full value for their success. Once again, they did what had to be done with the manager’s big players stepping up to the plate.
Two goals from matchwinner Kyogo Furuhashi won the game, but the midfield’s ability to take control of the game during the first period and the backline’s ability to see it out after Rangers grabbed an Alfredo Morelos lifeline spoke volumes for his team. He said: “It was a cup final and rarely will one side dominate. I thought we were fantastic in terms of our football in such a big game.
“We still scored two excellent goals. Credit Rangers, they stuck in there and we had to defend a lot, but this team is not just one dimensional. It’s not just about what they do with the ball. They are a real resilient group and we had to defend.
“The back four were outstanding. Cam [Carter Vickers] and Carl [Stafelt] have been excellent. They are brave and they sometimes have the hardest job as we leave them one on one. But Ali [Johnston] and Greg [Taylor] were also excellent. The guys in front of them continued to work hard and we had to navigate a sticky patch.
“We then finished strong and should have put the game away, but we earned it by doing all facets of the game. The players have had to be resilient in the last two months and that has been the hallmark of this team.
“We have fantastic leaders and Callum McGregor sets the tone. If you have players like that, the rest will follow. The players have embraced it all and even the new boys understand it all. We played some fantastic football and just couldn’t put them away.”
Postecoglou made sure his players savoured their evening, but, in typical fashion, they’ll be right back on it tomorrow. The responsibility to go again never leaves.
It never stops as the boss said and he explained: “It’s important to let them enjoy these moments and I will. They’ll be back in on Tuesday. In the back of my mind, I know we have St Mirren at the weekend. It’s important we celebrate because the staff and the players, everyone at the football club have worked hard for this.
“The supporters too deserve to celebrate this moment. But, once we’ve done that in the right way, we’ll focus on next week against St Mirren.
“We haven’t had many off days because we never look too far ahead and never look too far back. That’s why we have been so relentless in our approach.
“The reason I push them is for days like this. Come Tuesday we focus on a tough game at a tough venue. It's not written anywhere there is a limit. I really believe that’s the beauty of what we do.
“Why should we settle for someone else’s measure of how good we can be? I’ve never believed in that and my message is the same every day. Whatever external measure there is into how good we can be, we are not going to be guided by that.
“Our measure will be how much can we improve on everything we do. They guys want that. They have been outstanding but we want to keep pushing the envelope into how good a team we can be.”
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