Now that the transfer window is over, there’s the small matter of the first Old Firm game of the season to deal with.
Rangers head across Glasgow looking to make up the two point gap that’s opened up over the first few weeks of the Premiership season. Celtic know that a win will send them five points clear ahead of two massive Champions League ties for both sides next week. Celtic host Real Madrid while Rangers are in Amsterdam to take on Ajax.
But it's all about what happens in the east end this weekend. The Hoops added a new face in Oliver Abildgaard late on transfer deadline day and Ange Postecoglou has rated his chances of being involved tomorrow. He’s admitted the excitement is building in what is a huge few days for the club, but his players are handling the expectation and physical demands being put on them well.
Here’s what the Celtic boss had to say.
Oliver Abildgaard
"Pleased to get everything over the line. It happened late, we had some moving parts in terms of making sure we got opportunities for guys elsewhere.
"I was mindful in terms of squad numbers. I had a clear idea of what I wanted to work with and things came together and we were able to get Oliver [Abildgaard] in as the final bit of business for us.
"Great to get him in. He's a player who is a little bit different to what we've already got here in terms of his attributes, but he's a pro. He just rounds off our squad. We've got a squad that I think is strong enough now to be able to compete on all the fronts we need to."
Rangers then Real Madrid
“It's not unusual for this place to be fair. There’s a lot of excitement around the place. There’s always big games when you're involved in this football club and from our perspective, we’ve been planning for what's ahead over the coming weeks. With the schedule we’ve got, we’re competing on a jumper of fronts. The players have been really good through this period in navigating the fixtures and our training schedule to make sure they're ready for what’s ahead. It’s important to focus on the next challenge and for us, that's tomorrow.
Transfer window?
“I’m really happy with the business we’ve done."
Old Firm
"What we've got to do is make sure we've grown into the season. We obviously knew it was a bit of a different start for us, with one game a week, but I think our performances have been getting strong every week. That's what we're looking for tomorrow.
"Improvement in our performance, improvement in the way we do things and play our football to overcome whatever challenge we have tomorrow that gets you three points, and then move on to the next challenge.
"From our perspective, the incentive is just to keep performing at the levels we have and keep improving on them. I certainly don't see it as any more difficult. You understand the impact it has particularly on our supporters in these games, but all that is pretty much irrelevant if you don't play well.
"I've always laid stock in one thing, and that is you get out there and you play your football and try to be the best you can be. All this other stuff tends to take care of itself.
"If you need extra motivation tomorrow than you did on Wednesday night or that you may need on Tuesday night, then you're never going to be successful. Our motivation has to be the same every time we're out there.
"And that is to be the best we can be, play our football. We understand the significance of it to our fans, we understand the significance of it in terms of the league, but that shouldn't mean that we're more motivated tomorrow than we were on Wednesday night and I haven't seen any evidence of that from the players. They treat every game with equal respect and an equal desire to be successful.
Abildgaard in squad?
“No, he'll need some time. He's only had one session with us. We’re in a better position now than we were last year, when we were throwing guys in. We’ll let him get settled and see where he’s at from a physical perspective and make our decisions along the way.
“Squad-wise for tomorrow, everyone’s pretty much okay after Wednesday night’s game. I’ll make decisions on squad and team tomorrow."
READ NEXT
