Celtic Park has been used as a set for a new crime drama in recent weeks but the Parkhead ticket office has been more like a battle scene from Braveheart with the stampede for Champions League tickets.
There’s no doubt Real Madrid coming to town on Tuesday is proper box office but it doesn’t take Taggart to figure out where Ange Postecoglou ’s focus will be this weekend. The Celtic boss is strictly sticking to his script and he’s adamant there’s no need to adjust his picture as he’s fully tuned in to the task in hand.
Real Madrid will be an epic when it arrives but Postecoglou reckons Hoops fans wouldn’t forgive him if he fluffed his lines by taking his eyes off the old foes this lunchtime. Can thoughts drift to the Galacticos? “You know the answer, mate,” Postecoglou said. “Look, that game will be great but I would hate to think what our supporters would think if I somehow was looking at one game 24 hours out from a derby. All our focus is on what happens this weekend. After that we’ll look to Tuesday.”
Postecoglou has derby fever but it has been a different kind of build-up to the first clash of the campaign, with the Champions League draw and the transfer window acting as a buffer. Not for the Celtic gaffer though.
He said: “It might be low key in your household mate but I can assure you I’ve not seen that to be the case. People haven’t failed to mention the fact we’re playing a derby. It’s a significant game.
“They have started the season strongly as well and we’ll have to play to the best of our ability. At the same time we’ve been consistent and improved a little every week, and that’s what we’ll take into this game. We know we are hard to stop when we are at our best.”
There have been plenty of Old Firm managers who look like they’ve stumbled on to the set of the wrong movie in these encounters. But Postecoglou relishes a starring role. This will be his sixth. Defeat at Ibrox in the opening encounter was strangely an optimistic experience given the display that day.
The 3-0 hammering dished out at a rocking Parkhead last February is presumably still being sold on DVD while wins at Ibrox and the post-split draw at Parkhead helped nudge the Hoops to the title. The extra-time defeat in the Scottish Cup semis was a downer before the Premiership party raised spirits again.
Postecoglou said: “Yeah, I absolutely love them. You want to be involved in big games and test yourself against the best all the time.
“If you don’t enjoy these games you’re better off not being part of a club like this. It’s part of the attraction of this job. It doesn’t matter if it’s your sixth or 60th derby. Ask Callum McGregor or James Forrest if they are any less excited just because they’ve been here a while. We know the atmosphere will be great, the contest will be strong and you want to be in these environments.”
There are some derbies that are loved more than others. Celtic fans could watch reruns of last season’s 3-0 night time mauling of the neighbours all day long and Postecoglou has challenged his side to hit those heights again.
He said: “There’s no reason you can’t perform like that. That’s our intent every time. We want to be the best we can be and when we’ve done that, like that night or in other games, then we’ve been hard to stop.
“That’s our intent this time. We obviously analyse and respect the opponent but we know if we can reach our levels and keep pushing our envelope we’re hard to stop.”
Postecoglou doesn’t even try to downplay a Rangers game. He quickly bought into Celtic and Scottish football and he knows there’s more than just three points at stake today.
At the same time, though, he’s not going to ham it up. Celtic fans see the prospect of inflicting a hefty blow on their rivals with a win that would take the champs five points clear on the first lap of the circuit. How much of a psychological boost would it be in beating your nearest and not so dearest?
“Zero mate,” was the typically blunt answer from Postecoglou. "If you look back to this time last year, we were probably five behind. I don’t buy into psychological boost stuff. I know other people do but I don’t get it. If we are going to be champions it’s over 38 games, not in one game, and it doesn’t matter how far ahead or behind you are at this stage.”
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