Ange Postecoglou wants his champions to hit fresh new heights to try and create more special memories at Celtic. And the Parkhead boss has urged the troops to fire-out an opening-day message which says they are going to be hard to stop.
Postecoglou believes his team may have to improve to finish top of the Premiership pile again and that fits his ambitions and ideals just perfectly. The Aussie insists it’s a constant drive to lift standards and hopes his boys can raise the bar to make more magic.
Postecoglou said: “What I try to do with every environment I’ve been in is to try and create something that will surpass anything that has happened before. So when I took over last year, the expectation for that year was to be the best team we could be and see where that takes us.
“It’s the same this year. It’s not about us coming back as champions or having more pressure and expectation. My goal and ambition is to make us the best team we can be and if we achieve that and become better than last year and perform at higher levels, then we’ll see what comes with it.
“It’s the same all the time. Every new season. I keep saying that to the players. There’s the possibility to be part of something special. Why would you want to waste a season or even a game because you somehow want to be comfortable or feel like there’s pressure or expectation.
“I didn’t start last year thinking: This is going to be a tough grind. I started last year thinking: Let’s see what we can do and can we create something special?
“It’s the same this year. It doesn’t change me or how I feel about what is ahead. I always want to try and create something special, make an impact with the team I’m involved with and it’s no different this year.
“We’ve got some great challenges ahead, it’s going to be tough, but the possibilities are there to create something special.”
Asked if Celtic would have to get stronger again to repeat their successes of last term, Postecoglou said: “I think so, yeah. I think like that even with life in general, I guess. Once you have that performance, even if that performance is good and has brought you success in the past, invariably it can happen that someone can go past you.
“So I think that irrespective of what you have done the previous year, the aim is to always try and improve and be stronger and perform at better levels. That’s our aim. If we do that and with the base of what we achieved last year, we know we’ll give ourselves an opportunity for success.
“There’s no guarantee because someone else out there could be absolutely flying and we can’t catch them, so you just don’t know that or what will happen. What I do know is that, if we perform, we give ourselves the best chance of achieving something.”
Postecoglou’s defending champions kick-off with a home clash on Sunday against Aberdeen where the title flag will be unfurled prior to kick-off. The task is to keep it and the trophy in Glasgow’s East End and the manager wants the team to show from the off that they mean business.
Postecoglou said: “We’re at home. We’re going to have 60,000 there and want to make sure we start the season off in as strong a fashion as possible. Our goal will be to try and put on a performance to try and show people we are going to be a side who are going to be hard to stop.”
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