Ange Postecoglou insists Celtic will have no fears dealing with the big freeze in Bodo with temperatures plummeting to 13 degrees below.
The Hoops boss has been warned by rival gaffer Kjetil Knutsen to brace himself for the worst conditions he’ll ever face. But Postecoglou has stuck to his usual Euro plans and opted to train in Glasgow yesterday rather than go out for a dress rehearsal on the Aspymra Stadium’s plastic pitch.
The Hoops will need to withstand bitter snow blasts that will feel like it’s 13 degrees below as they bid to overhaul the Norwegians’ 3-1 Europa Conference League first-leg advantage.
Bodo boss Knutsen is out to wrap up the tie and warned: “The weather will be awful. It’s really cold and windy.
“The most extreme? Yeah, yeah – ever. For us it’s normal. It is winter in Bodo, so for us it is normal.
“But to play football in Bodo in February that is special for many teams and players.”
Postecoglou is refusing to get spooked by the sub-zero setting.
Speaking before Celts jetted out, the Australian said: “Nah mate, we’ll be all right. People get a little bit carried away with this type of stuff.
“Trust me, I was involved with the national team mate and we went from playing in zero degrees to 45 degrees humidity in the Middle East in 24 hours, so I know all about it.
“From our perspective, we’ll make sure our players are ready to perform. It’s not about anything that extreme, we don’t have to go to altitude or anything.
“It’s just conditions we need to deal with – and we will. There are no easy solutions.
“Us flying there today and having a session on their pitch is going to make absolutely zero difference.
“Us being here, getting a good training session with the boys, getting them prepared for a difficult game tomorrow, is much more important to me.
“It’s always a challenge with different conditions and with the pitch being artificial, all those things come into it.
“Like everything else it’s stuff we need to deal with and at the end of the day it’s all about how we perform and make sure that we don’t allow any other factors to stop us from playing the type of football we want to play.
“That will be part of the process.”
Postecoglou wants his men to adapt to the challenge and throw everything at Bodo/Glimt in a bid to continue Celtic’s Euro adventure.
He said: “That’s the beauty of Europe, you’re facing different types of opposition than you are in the Premiership.
“They play differently, there are different conditions. Sometimes it’s a hostile environment in terms of the crowd, so there’s always stuff you have to deal with.
“That’s part of our growth as a team to experience these things and these challenges, that’s why you love testing yourself in Europe.”
The Hoops boss believes his side have grown over the course of the continental competition and tonight will be another vital experience – regardless of the outcome.
He said: “It’s been great. For us, I’ve seen growth through it. I’ve seen our players get exposed to it and they are still getting exposed to it.
“The other night that was Matty O’Riley’s, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda’s first European games, so we’re still exposing guys to that sort of football.
“Having so many games has been invaluable for us, and obviously along the way it hasn’t always worked out for us from a results perspective but it’s helped us grow as a team.
“Hopefully it continues beyond tomorrow.”
