Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has urged the SFA to sort out the Hampden pitch before his side return for the Viaplay Cup Final. The Hoops gaffer wasn’t happy with the surface at the National Stadium as his side beat Kilmarnock 2-0 to book their place on February 26.
Postecoglou praised his players for getting down and dirty to see off the Ayrshire club in horrible conditions. But the Aussie hopes the pitch at Hampden is in far better nick when they take on Rangers or Aberdeen - who must play on it again on Sunday - for the trophy next month.
Postecoglou said: “You can’t control the weather in Scotland but I'm disappointed in the state of the pitch, I thought it would be better. You know when you come to Hampden it’s a showpiece event and you want the conditions to be the best they can be.
“Even when I walked out before the game, I was disappointed in the pitch. It’s going to be tough for the two teams on Sunday. If you’re going to have showpiece events when everyone’s watching under the spotlight, you want to present it in the best condition.
“I’m not sure how much football they’ve had on the pitch or what the situation is. But for a cup semi-final you want the best conditions possible. It didn’t have great grass coverage and didn’t hold very well.
“I went to Motherwell’s pitch recently and it was perfect. I would hope it’s better for the final. All eyes are on these games and you want them presented in the best possible manner.
“That presents the whole competition in a good light. I don’t know the background to it. Maybe they’ve had some issues with it. But when you have a venue like this which is designed for big games, you hope it’s presented well.”
Goals from Daizen Maeda and Giorgos Giakoumakis sealed the victory for Celtic, despite a superb display from Derek McInnes’ underdogs. Postecoglou is delighted to be in yet another final as Celtic boss.
But with constant speculation surrounding his Greek striker, as well as Croatian defender Josip Juranovic, he admits he’d like more new additions in before the February final. Postecoglou has already added Alistair Johnston, Tomoki Iwata and Yuki Kobayashi to his ranks.
And at full-time, he said: “We are still working on things and constantly trying to make the squad stronger. We need to and I want to.
“I don’t want us to stand still at any point. I think the three boys we have brought in will make a contribution. But if there is an opportunity to make us stronger again we will take it because for us it is about ensuring we never stand still and are always looking to improve in every aspect.
“I keep getting asked questions about Giako and Josip. I watch them every day and they are training hard, their attitude is first rate. They are not sitting around moping. There is nothing certain, no (bids for Giakoumakis). There is going to be speculation between now and the end of the window.
“Michael Nicholson deals with the majority of that. If it gets to me we know it is serious but as of now there is nothing we need to address.”
Postecoglou can now look ahead to an opportunity to win more silverware and the first trophy of the season on February 26. He said: “It was a tough game today which you would expect in a cup semi-final. Credit to Derek and his boys, they gave everything to the contest.
“We knew it would be a battle before it started. But it’s credit to this team that it’s not all about the football. There’s a real desire and will to overcome any challenge. They did that today. I don’t know if it was backs against the wall. It was a battle, an arm wrestle in a cup semi-final played in trying conditions.
“We were never going to get open space or be able to play through them. Their application to their game didn’t allow us. But our ultimate goal and ambition was to do what we had to do to win and this team has consistently done that. That’s why we’re in this position and rarely lose.
“Because whatever is thrown at us, this group of players find a way of getting the job done. We showed desire, discipline, and structure. It’s easy to do something rash in those conditions and mistakes are going to happen.
“It’s how you react to them and we were focused and concentrated. Joe Hart made a couple of great saves and we created the moments we needed to score the goals.
“The great thing is we’ve given our supporters another trip out here for a cup final. That’s what you want when you start out, to be present when the trophies are handed out.”
