A night at the theatre for Celtic: The Musical was the perfect way for Ange Postecoglou to unwind after the previous pulsating evening in Poland.
But while the Hoops boss enjoyed the sing-song and mingling with the punters, there’s no doubt it’s putting on a show on the biggest of stages that gets his juices flowing. Postecoglou and his side may have only a point on the board from their opening two Champions League matches.
But the performances suggested there’s excitement on the way in the second and third acts, with the RB Leipzig double-header up next before Shakhtar Donetsk come to Glasgow and they finish up with an encore in the Bernabeu against Real Madrid. Celtic haven’t missed a line in the dress rehearsals in the domestic game and are out to maintain the hit rate away to St Mirren on Sunday. But Postecoglou admitted it was nice to pause for breath on Thursday as he caught the opening night of the latest run of the Hoops stage show at the SEC Armadillo on the back of the thrilling 1-1 with Shakhtar Donetsk just 24 hours earlier.
The 57-year-old said: “It was good to be there and a really good show. I enjoyed it. Everyone had a lot of fun. I get to meet the fans every weekend at games but it was nice to be a bit closer to them.
“Everyone was really kind and respectful, it’s nice to be part of it all. You always know the history but it’s fantastic to see it all laid out in front of you.
“It goes to show it’s more than just a football club, it’s more than that. You can see that through the people in the show and in the crowd. These stories get passed down and that’s how you create a legacy, that’s what it’s all about.”
Postecoglou is hoping his class of 2022 may feature in future productions and there’s every chance if they can make history by progressing in this season’s Champions League. Celts are certainly in the scrap. Madrid already look like runaway winners of Group F but the rest are set to fight it out for the second knockout spot and Europa League place.
Either would represent a successful season but the Hoops boss saw it as a three-way battle from the off and nothing has changed – apart from Celtic’s confidence levels. He said: “It’s no surprise to me. When you get to this level, every team is capable of winning, they all have quality.
“I watched Real Madrid v Leipzig and it was a tight game. Real scored late but Leipzig were really good on the night. They’ll be a tough opponent. We’ve seen Shakhtar already against us and they scored four goals in Germany.
“It’s going to be a tight group but, from our perspective, it’s about trying to keep playing our football and understanding the areas we still need to improve on. Every time we go out, we want to get a little better.”
Celtic should have won in Warsaw. Even the Shakhtar camp admitted they got off the hook. Postecoglou reckons his side are starting to believe they are Champions League players rather than just acting the part. He said: “I was really pleased with the performance.
“We know at this level it’s hard to dominate games, especially away from home, and keep the opposition to minimal threat. The boys handled it well. We were disappointed not to get the win but if we keep going down this road, the wins will come.
“It’s part of the process of us becoming a legitimate Champions League team. You do that by playing games, getting experience to get that understanding of what it takes to win at this level. I couldn’t ask any more of the players. If we keep performing like that, it’ll come.”
Frustration did come from Celtic just failing to add the finishing touches. They averaged more than 12 shots a game so far against Madrid and Shakhtar but fluffed their lines a few times. But the boss said: “It’s the hardest part of the game and the higher the level you go, the more difficult it is.
“There aren’t many players who score consistently at Champions League level and take every opportunity. The ones who do are the most priceless assets in football. We are building towards something but know if we keep producing performances and creating chances, our players will adjust to that level and score the goals to win games.
“It’s still a process. And people need to understand 12 months ago a lot of these boys who played the other night hadn’t played anywhere near this level. They’ve made enormous progress the last year, individually and as a team, and we want to make sure we continue it.
“We want to be the kind of team that can control games. Even in the first game, everyone saw we broke even against arguably the best side in Europe for 55 minutes. We need to be able to do that for longer stretches of the games and become consistently a team that can dominate matches.”
