Ange Postecoglou has warned rivals eyeing Celtic’s Scottish Premiership crown his side will be even stronger next season.
The Hoops wrapped up the title at the weekend with four games to spare and can set a new points record with a clean sweep in their remaining matches. Postecoglou is savouring back-to-back championship success – but vowed he won’t be resting on his laurels.
The Parkhead boss is already plotting his summer recruitment drive to hammer home his club’s domination on the home front. Postecoglou said: “You can always improve. That’s my role. A lot of these guys are still young in terms of their football careers. I think there is improvement in us as a group. The experiences we’ve had this year, whether that is in Europe or domestically, make us stronger. It will be our task to make sure. It’s what I said at the end of last year: if we stand still, if we come out next year as the same team we were this year there is always the chance that somebody can overtake you. We can’t let that happen.
“We have to push on and make sure we become a better team. Results-wise that will be awfully difficult because it has just been an incredible standard, but in terms of the football there is always room for improvement.”
Postecgolou admitted earlier in the season there could be big name departures as well as new arrivals. He still believes that could be the case with several of his top men attracting attention from all around the globe.
But Postecoglou is unfazed about the prospect of stars leaving as he is confident in the club’s ability to keep unearthing gems from all over the planet. The Celtic gaffer said: “It’s always a possibility. But there are different decisions you make around players. Sometimes players feel a desire to move on and it works well for the club.
“We are always going to do what’s best for the football club. It’s got to marry with what we are trying to achieve. But I think what we have shown is that whether it’s absences through injury or through people leaving the club, we are still strong enough to be able to tackle the tasks ahead.”
Postecoglou has an eye on the summer but won’t let up in the remainder of this season with records to aim for and a Scottish Cup Final against Inverness Caley Thistle on the horizon.
There is also Saturday’s Old Firm clash against Rangers – where the Hoops boss will demand another statement. He said: “We want to win, mate. I’m going to put teams out to win. That’s it. And the guys respect that, that’s what they want. They don’t want to be given anything they want to earn everything they get.
"If they play they will play because they have earned it. If I make decisions that go away from that there will be other guys asking questions as to why they’re not playing.
“I think the last four or five weeks you can feel the lads have kind of tightened up in the way we are playing, knowing what’s at stake. We haven’t been as free-flowing as we were earlier in the year, which is understandable. And it’s felt like a long year because of the Champions League and the World Cup break. But I’m in no doubt that in the next training session they will be out there working as hard as they always have.”
Postecoglou will, however, need to assess the fitness of striker Kyogo ahead of the Light Blues clash.
The 30-goal hitman aggravated a long-standing shoulder problem when he notched the opener in the win against Hearts on Sunday. The injury didn’t prevent the Japanese fans favourite from joining in with the celebrations but will need treatment going into the weekend.
Postecoglou said: “He hurt his shoulder a little bit. Hopefully it’s not too bad. Obviously he’s had a few issues with it. We will just see and speak to the physios.”
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