Ange Postecoglou insists Celtic aren’t ready to ditch Plan A just yet as they search for a first Champions League win against Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Ukrainians arrive in Glasgow on Tuesday night for a Group F clash with the Hoops aiming to bank their first three points of the campaign and the Aussie is adamant it’s a chance to prove his attacking principles remain the right approach. Despite sitting on one point amid criticism of being too naive against Europe’s giants, Postecoglou has no intention of altering his gung-ho game plan.
He said: “I still don’t feel like we need validation. We have seen enough to show you can make an impact and be competitive even against the best while playing football the way we do. But there is no doubt we have been lacking goals – we have not been taking our chances and getting wins. There is no greater remedy to that than actually going out and doing it.
“Our supporters have been brilliant through the campaign and obviously they will be disappointed as well that we haven’t been able to make more of an impact in our group. But they appreciate the way we have gone about it. The reward we want for them is to be winning games in what is the toughest club competition in the world.
“On Tuesday we are at home and it’s an opportunity before us. I think three points would be a great reward for the players and our supporters for our efforts. We have gone close and have competed well. We have just lacked a cutting edge.”
A 1-1 draw in Poland against Shakhtar in September was a disappointment after a dominant Celtic display. But on the night it was a familiar theme of failing to net chances and Postecoglou admits it’s one that got away.
He said: “I thought it was a missed opportunity. We started well and got in front. They got a goal from a counter attack and we know that’s their strength. But we got back to grips with the game and dominated the last half-hour.
"We had some good chances and you know at this level, as we have certainly found out, there are fine margins between getting a result and not getting a result. While earning a point away from home in the Champions League is still a good result, we felt we’d let a win go – and that was disappointing.”
Shakhtar’s league clash against Mynai, scheduled to take place yesterday, was postponed to give them extra time to prepare for their trip to Parkhead. That could give them an advantage but Postecoglou believes his own side’s recent momentum –boosted by a 4-3 win over Hearts yesterday – can counteract that cancellation.
He said: “It depends as potentially it could help them. They could be sort of freshened up for Tuesday.
“But we are in a good cycle at the moment. We are in good form and keeping the injury list to a minimum, which is good as I am able to rotate the team and the squad. A good performance leading into the Shakhtar game, with the ability to freshen the team from our squad, then it is still a good preparation. That is how I look at it.”
Celtic still have a possibility of being able to parachute into a Europa League spot with a third-place finish. Postecoglou admits his priority is a win on Tuesday night and trying to remain in Europe beyond Christmas. He said: “It would be great. Our goal was to make an impact in the Champions League group then see where that took us.
“Obviously we can’t progress in the competition now but there’s a window to play on. What is more important for us is that we play our football against a very good team.
“They have taken points off the other teams in the group so it is not like it is going to be an easy game for us, far from it. It will be a challenging game and we are going to have to be at our best if we want to get anything out of it.
“If we do get something out of it, if we get a win, then it keeps our hopes alive of third place in the group and that is the first thing we need to do.”
Postecoglou also revealed skipper Callum McGregor could still be part of the travelling party for the Sydney Super Cup in Australia next month as he continues to battle back from a knee injury. He said: “If he is okay or close to being okay we will take him along. It is still early in his rehab so we will just wait and see.”
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