Ange Postecoglou hailed his superhuman Celtic for digging out an Ibrox draw to take a huge leap towards retaining the Premiership title. The Parkhead gaffer insisted his men are not robots after producing an under-par display against Rangers.
But the fighting spirit shown with the late Kyogo leveller in the dramatic 2-2 draw is the reason the champions are still nine points clear starting the New Year. Daizen Maeda brilliantly tucked away an early Gers gift yesterday but the Light Blues looked to have hauled it around when Ryan Kent squared with a stunner and James Tavernier slammed home from the spot in seven frantic second half minutes.
But Celtic maintained their advantage at the top when Kyogo pounced with a couple of minutes to go to leave Rangers shattered and the Hoops with one hand on the title. Postecoglou said: “They are human beings. They are not robots.
"It was a big game, a big occasion. We started so well and it doesn’t take much.
"Greg Taylor going off injured didn’t help us, the balance of the team was out of whack but there was still, even within that context, just giving the ball away cheaply which we don’t normally do. But they are not going to be perfect all the time.
"The beauty of it is within that context they still found a way because at 2-1 it would have been easy, with the crowd the way it was and the way the game was going for us, to resign ourselves to our fate, and say it is not our day.
“But this group of players never do that and they didn’t today. It’s the way this group is, the way we have created the environment.
"There isn’t anything like a lost cause. You go till the final whistle and nothing changes.
“Even in our comfortable victories, you’ll still see us being really aggressive till the last minute. The players are conditioned to think that way and play that way.
"It’s easy for me to talk about it, but in today’s environment, and the way the game was, it would have been almost natural to say ‘jeez, it’s not going to be our day’. But this group of players just refuse to do that.”
Postecoglou admitted his side didn’t hit the heights – but he was thrilled to play a part in an enthralling clash on Glasgow’s South Side. He said: “Great game for football, mate, even before we get into the analysis. I thought it was a cracking game for everyone.
“All eyes are on this game, not just in Scotland, but all around the world and I thought both teams were at it today. It was a proper derby. Everything is pleasing. It’s a difficult place to come to.
"We knew they’d throw everything at us because of the importance in the context of the league. I thought for the most part we handled it okay.”
Postecoglou sprung a surprise with his teamsheet with £3m signing Alistair Johnston thrown into a pressure debut. The Canada World Cup star got pass marks from his gaffer with the promise of more to come.
Postecoglou said: “I thought he was good. It’s a difficult game to throw him into. Not only is it a derby, it’s away from home and also we all knew it was a big game for a number of reasons.
"For the most part, I thought he handled it really well, but there is more to come from him, especially in an attacking sense once he gets to understand our games. He won’t get a sterner test than that as a Celtic player. He came through it really well.”
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