Ange Postecoglou says Celtic could still do more business before the transfer window slams shut on Thursday night. The Hoops boss is preparing to take his side on the long journey north to start the defence of their Premier Sports Cup with a last-16 tie at Ross County.
Postecoglou spoke ahead of that trip and addressed the possibility of more new faces following Sead Haksabanovic as well as the sacking of Jack Ross as Dundee United boss after his Hoops side inflicted a nine-goal mauling of the Tangerines at Tannadice.
The tricky Staggies trip is the last fixture before Celtic face Rangers in the first derby of the season at Parkhead where a victory for the champions would move them five points clear of their fierce rivals at the top of the Scottish Premiership. . Both fixtures this week could have a big impact on the Bhoys retaining both of their trophies from last term.
Here’s what Postecoglou had to say
Chance of new signings or players moving on?
“There’s a possibility. There’s things working on in the background both in terms of outgoings and incomings. We might well do nothing and might do a couple of things but there’s still stuff going on in the background and we’ll all find out in the next 48 hours.”
Jack Ross sacking
“I said after the game we all realise the industry we’re in and the position we all hold and the repercussions when things aren’t going well. There’s less patience and tolerance these days for things not going well. People feel like change is the only recourse when things aren’t going well. In days gone by we were a little more patient but that’s the industry we’re in and Jack was probably aware of it and for all our managers in today’s world when things aren’t going well there’s always the potential you can be relieved of your duties. It’s the nature of football in the current climate and I don’t see it changing because there’s a real visceral response to things these days because there are so many opinions and external pressures and scrutiny on everything that happens.
"I said before that you could wait until Monday’s papers for the pressure to start but now it’s at the full time whistle and that’s the world we live in and most people when they’re looking for some sort of correction they feel change is the best way to go. That’s the nature of the roles we’re in and every manager understands that. You always enjoy the good times. I’ve never worried too much about how much my tenure will last at every position I’ve held. I’ve just tried to do the job to the best of my ability and enjoy it for as long as it lasts. None of us have any guarantees over how long we stay in any position but it doesn’t stop you building stuff that’s meaningful. I’ve always gone into every position I’ve had thinking I’ll be there for a long time and build a team that can helpfully do special things and if that ends prematurely then so be it.”
Ross County challenge
"We know Ross County is a challenging fixture but in a cup competition every opponent has potential pitfalls you can fall into so we have to be at our best. Ross County is tricky anyway as you get home in the early hours of the next morning so we’ll make some changes."
Reflections on United win
“It was obviously a good day for us. The performance was really good and the quality of our goals was really good and the pleasing thing for us was that a lot of it came with stuff we work on every day. You can win games and sometimes it’s on the back of individual performances but I just thought it was a really strong collective effort around our football and we were relentless with it right until the final whistle we kept going which was pleasing. It was a great and I keep saying to the players that every game provides you with an opportunity to lay down a marker and create something special and you don’t want to dismiss any fixtures and just try and get through games - you want to try and be the best you can be. It goes in the record books and that’s something the whole group can be proud of - that they all contributed to something that hasn’t been done before.The quality of our goals on Sunday and the way we went about things in terms of our focus and discipline was excellent. But there’s been other games that have been just as good but we haven’t finished off our work. It shows that can happen but that does’t mean that’s what we’re striving for. It’s about constant improvement in our football. There are still areas we can improve even after the weekend and the different challenges we face moving forward.”
Premier Sports Cup mean a lot as first trophy win as Celtic boss
“It was significant for us because we had a challenging start to the season and we found some consistency but winning a trophy in those first few months added some real belief in terms of the direction we were heading and our fans and everyone involved in the football club could see some real progress so it was an important trophy for us to win. But that’s the nature of this football club. Irrespective of my feelings towards a particular competition - at this football club the expectations are the same. You try and win ever game you play and competition you are in and that doesn’t change.”
Injuries
“Everyone pulled fine from the weekend. Joe had quite a few stitches in his head but everyone else pulled up really well. We’ve got a fully fit squad. We’ll make some changes but it’s about trying to put out a team that will reach the level of performances we need to win a difficult game and it’s a quick turnaround for Saturday.”
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