There was truth in Michael Beale’s statement during the week that there is now a low probability of Rangers overhauling Celtic in the race for the Premiership title, but there was an even lower probability that Ange Postecoglou was going to bite on that juicy morsel left hanging out there by the Rangers manager.
Whatever the percentage chance may be of Rangers lifting the title, Postecoglou contends there is one way to ensure that any tiny sliver of hope is extinguished; by challenging his men to win every one of their remaining games, starting today against Aberdeen.
If they manage that, of course, there is nothing that Rangers or anyone else can do to deny them and Postecoglou a second successive Premiership crown. So, just as Postecoglou seems to be doing himself, he has encouraged his men to ignore any outside noise and concentrate on achieving just that.
“We’ve got to win [on Saturday] mate,” Postecoglou said. “That’s all.
“I’ve said before that my role in all of that is that we want to finish the season strong – stronger than how we started.
“If we win all of our games, we don’t have to worry about anything else or anyone else or what anyone else is saying or forecasting in terms of percentages.
“If we win every game between now and the end of the year, here’s a percentage for you…one hundred percent we will win the league. So why would we think beyond that?
“For us, beating Aberdeen gets us three points and if we get those three points we know where we’re going to be sitting in the table.”
Postecoglou has noted over the past few weeks though that there are plenty of people keen to link him to a move away from the club, and amid recent interest from Leeds United, Rangers legends Ally McCoist and Barry Ferguson even offered to drive him to Yorkshire.
“I wouldn’t struggle for a lift mate!” he laughed. “I’ve got plenty of people who’d take me.”
That was a backhanded compliment on the job that Postecoglou is doing at Celtic, but it is the packed stands each week that he uses as a personal gauge of how he is faring in the dugout.
The match today against Aberdeen has been sold out for weeks, and it is in the opinion of those fans who are flocking to matches where Postecoglou places his stock.
“My measure are the people who love this football club,” he said. “That’s the only feedback I’m looking for.
“They’ll tell me how I’m going more than anyone else. That’s always going to be my barometer. For me that’s the most important thing. Ultimately that’s our biggest measure.
“Of course, trophies are what this football club is about and that’s my role – to bring success. But the biggest encouragement or reward we can get is people wanting to come and watch their football club.
“I don’t take that for granted. No one in the club does. Even cup games, it’s a choice sometimes whether they come or not, but they are coming in record numbers.
“They are not just appreciating the fact that we are winning games of football. I think they are appreciating how the boys are playing and they are excited by that.
“For me, that’s the greatest reward. It’s always been my barometer during my whole career. Fans will tell me how I’m going more than the table or anything else.
“We can be winning games of football but if our supporters don’t like what they see then I’ll get that feedback for sure.
“For me, it’s very rewarding that they are not just appreciating the fact that we’re winning games of football, but they are enjoying the way we are doing it.”
Ominously for their domestic opponents, given they have lost just one league match all season, Postecoglou feels as though his team are not only still getting better, but have plenty of room for improvement yet.
So, his demand for an even stronger end to the campaign seems to be a realistic one.
“There’s always areas to improve,” he said. “Our players want to improve.
“They come in here every day looking for improvement and asking us for ways they can do that.
“I think our football is improving. I think we’re playing better now than we were at the start of the year, and we were playing pretty well at the start of the year.
“My role is to keep pushing and to keep trying to improve. There are still guys who want to make more of a contribution and haven’t had much of a chance, particularly lately with a game a week.
“(Tomoki) Iwata, (Yuki) Kobayashi, (Sead) Haksabanovic, (James) Forrest…all of these guys haven’t been able to contribute as much as they would have liked. We’ve got (Anthony) Ralston back, (Alexandro) Bernabei is available.
“The games will come thick and fast pretty , and I think those guys contributing will help us and sort of take us to another level as well.”
One man who won’t be able to contribute this afternoon is David Turnbull, with the midfielder picking up a knock in the win over St Mirren last week, though Postecoglou is confident he will be fit for next week’s Viaplay Cup Final against Rangers.
