Ange Postecoglou has urged his Celtic stars to feel like kids again in the Bernabeu.
The Parkhead team end their Group F campaign in one of Europe’s most-iconic arenas. Although there is nothing to play for in terms of qualification, facing Real Madrid on their own patch remains romantic.
Fans have flocked without tickets to the Spanish Capital just to be around. The reconstruction work and mess which sits around the place doesn’t change the fact it is the Bernabeu and it is special. Postecoglou would never entertain any notion of his team being there as tourists. They are there to do a job. But he also knows this is the type of environment that some of his young stars would have dreamed of playing in when they were at school and wants them to embrace those excited emotions. Postecoglou said: “Look, it goes both ways. Of course the players are going to be excited by it.
“You think of where some of them were, even 12 months ago in their careers and where they are now. They probably as kids dreamed of playing in a stadium like this against Real Madrid. And I want them to feel that way.
“You’ve got to be excited because you don’t know if you’ll be here again. But, ultimately, when you’re out there on the pitch, as I keep saying, what you want to do is make sure that 90 minutes doesn’t pass you by because you’re fearing consequences or just trying to survive.
“Go out there, believe in yourself and believe in our football. And let’s see where that gets you. If you fall short then you fall short. But you’ve taken in the whole experience. You haven’t walked off the pitch and thought: Jeez, I reckon I could have done a bit more. Or I wasn’t brave enough.
“That’s what I don’t want us to be, you know? I want the players to enjoy it, I want them to be excited. Our fans will be excited and I want them to get the fullness of the experience as well.”
Naturally, there is always a chance some may not handle the situation, but Postecoglou continued: “How do you know? Matt O’Riley was playing at MK Dons 12 months ago Reo Hatate was in Japan. It’s not like this group of players have been in Europe for the past three or four years.
“They haven’t had hardening European football. Their test has been this year, that’s it. We’ve thrown them in. So this is another massive test for all those boys. But so far they haven’t let me down. I know we have come short and we’re disappointed with results, but they have gone out there and done exactly what I have asked of them.
“They have been brave and haven’t feared anybody. They have been really determined to make an impact at this level. This will be another test of that.”
Celtic may be out, but Real need a win to guarantee top spot in the section. Postecoglou doesn’t think that scenario changes anything as he said: “I don’t think you ever play Real Madrid and don’t think it’s going to be a difficult game.
“I don’t think their recent results are really relevant to that. We are expecting a very difficult game because they have something to play for in the Champions League. We are expecting them to be at their best and we have to be at our best. I want to go out there with our group of guys and make sure they go out and measure themselves against one of the very best clubs in the world and see how we go.
“It’s one of the iconic stadiums in the world. I think, even if you ask the Real Madrid players, they will tell you about the atmosphere we create at Celtic Park. It’s always a memorable game, a great experience and we are looking forward to it for our club as well. We haven’t played against Real here for a very long time, so for our football club we want to make sure we give our supporters something to be proud of.”
Celtic ’s fans are backing the style that Postecoglou has delivered in Europe and, although results are not as wanted, they are firmly behind the method. The boss said: “I think that’s important. I think the one thing we can do. If we are not giving our supporters the results or the euphoria of winning games at this level then, at least give them hope.
“You want to build on that. You don’t want it to be just endless hope without the results. I think our supporters will be disappointed that we couldn’t get more out of this group, but at the same time I think they can see what we are trying to do and what we are trying to build and they can see the road ahead.
“If we can continue in this manner then instead of hitting the post the ball will go in and we will get them behind us and games will go our way. What it means for my perspective is that I have a responsibility to see that through so that they are not disappointed at the end of it. Because I am the one that’s selling them that hope.
“I don’t think it’s a season-on-season thing, but I firmly believe if we qualify next year and play like we did this year, there will be a couple of games when the results go our way. No-one can tell me we couldn’t have been on four or five points with the way the games have gone in this campaign.
“You can’t go every three, four or five years, jump up to this level and expect to make an impact, not at a club of our size anyway.”
