Ange Postecoglou admits he doesn't want any of his top stars leaving Celtic 'at the moment' with the January transfer window looming.
A number of key personnel at the Hoops have impressed with big name clubs linked with their services. Josip Juranovic - who is off to the World Cup with Croatia - has been previously linked with the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Atletico Madrid. Major speculation over his future post-World Cup has been doing the rounds with reports claiming they could cash in on him during the winter window.
Matt O'Riley is another who has had several English Premier League sides named as potential suitors for his services. Postecoglou brought him north of the border just shy of a year ago from MK Dons and he has established himself as a real key player. The likes of Leicester City, Everton, Crystal Palace and Newcastle have all been previously namechecked. The Hoops faced the Toffees Down Under as part of their Sydney Super Cup adventure with a meeting with A-League side Sydney FC also taking place. The Scottish champions held their own against Frank Lampard's side and missed key chances before losing out on penalties.
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Asked if four of five of his players could shine south of the border, the Aussie boss said: "That’s not for me to judge. I certainly don’t want them to go at the moment.
“Again, that’s part of who we want to be as a football club. I said a few weeks ago, all these things need to be designed to be stronger every year. We can’t plateau. We can’t just be a dominant team in our own backyard. We want to be more than that.
“To do that all these other things are important because that’s how we bridge the gaps and have an advantage over other clubs who don’t have this access to worldwide exposure.”
The Celtic squad will now get eight or nine days off to rest up before the hard work resumes as they bid to retain the Scottish Premiership crown and return to the Champions League.
They hold a nine point lead over Rangers with both the Viaplay Cup and Scottish Cup still up for grabs this season.
Speaking about the plans for the World Cup break and if he will take a much-neeed rest like his players, he told Celtic TV: “A rest? Are you kidding me? There’s always things to do.
“That’s okay. The intensity and scrutiny is a constant, because I just want us to be better. I’ll get plenty of time to switch off when I retire.
“Right now there are important things to do and it’s my responsibility to make sure we are ready to go. The boys will have eight or nine days off and it will be good for them.
“It’s still a mid-season break so we don’t want them to get away from it totally, because we’ll need to get back into it.
“But the lads are really good, they are really focussed. It’s more of a mental break, with some work over that period.
“We want to get back and hit the ground running. We don’t want to be making up for lost time, or lost conditioning.
“Mentally it will be good for them, but I don’t think we’ll be far away from what we need to do.”
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