ANGE POSTECOGLOU has revealed his tactic for avoiding awkward conversations with his players over his team selections, saying he simply puts the starting XI up on the board and walks away.
The Celtic manager though had a serious point to make about the strength of his squad after the mauling of Motherwell that put them into the League Cup semi-final, as well as the selfless attitude of his players that contributes to their success.
Postecoglou made five changes to his team from the 6-1 thumping of Hibernian at the weekend for the trip to Fir Park, dropping hat-trick hero James Forrest and two-goal Giorgos Giakoumakis to the bench.
When asked how he explains such decisions to his players, Postecoglou said: "I don't tell them, I just avoid them mate! Easy discussion, I just put the team up and walk away.
“I think they've all embraced that, they understand it. You saw last year what happens when you put the burden on a very few, you get injuries and it affects us.
“If James had played [against Motherwell] or Giako had played, there's no chance for Saturday, so they understand that.
“They all appreciate and all understand that if we are going to be successful, playing this kind of football, everyone's got their role to play.”
What that also engenders is an acknowledgment from all of Postecoglou’s players that they have to seize their chance whenever it arrives.
“I think that is important,” he said. “We still have seven games to go in this stretch before the break and there is just no way you can do that with 11 or 12 players, especially with the type of football we want to play.
“It’s not a matter of me just giving guys a game because I feel sorry for them. I’m putting guys in there because I think we can maintain those levels and keep guys fresh for when we need them because they need a lot of energy to play our kind of football.
“The guys have embraced that. They are taking their opportunities every time they play to make an impact and I thought the guys who came in tonight were good at that. They provided a general sort of drive and energy we needed.”
