Ange Postecoglou reckons Celtic had a protecting defender that might've spared captain Callum McGregor a crimson card of their win over Motherwell.
The reigning champions returned to the Premiership summit with a 2-1 win over Motherwell however their skipper is ready for a spell on the sidelines after hauling down Ross Tierney within the dying minutes as he raced via on aim. However Postecoglou reckons his facet had been nonetheless nicely definitely worth the win, having solely been pegged again after Kyogo's opener by Josip Juranovic chesting the ball past Joe Hart and into his personal web.
Victory restores the champions' two-point benefit over Rangers however the Parkhead boss recommended he feels McGregor's dismissal was not clear minimize. He instructed BBC Sportsound: "It is arduous to say. From my angle I believed we had a protecting participant. The referee's made that call so we have simply obtained to cop it."
Celtic weren't fairly at their ruthless greatest and it allowed Motherwell to carry on till Reo Hatate smashed a swerving drive past Liam Kelly from distance. Postecoglou reckons his facet created alternatives he would usually count on them to bury.
He stated: "It (the win) just isn't vital however it's vital. Particularly if you've misplaced your earlier sport, you do not wish to get into that rut the place you make issues troublesome for your self, so it was vital to win.
"We actually created sufficient possibilities to win the sport extra comfortably than we did. We had a few self-inflicted wounds, so in all probability made it nearer than it ought to've been.
"(Had been you pleased with the efficiency?) To a sure a part of the sphere. We hit the publish twice so we had been unfortunate. However we may've been extra ruthless and environment friendly within the last third - we had some possibilities we normally take which we did not right now. So, together with giving them a aim it stored them within the sport and made it harder than it ought to've been."
Celtic now head for Germany and a Champions League showdown with RB Leipzig for which Postecoglou is hoping he can name upon Giorgos Giakoumakis and Cameron Carter-Vickers. They each missed out on Saturday however are in rivalry for a midweek return.
The Celtic supervisor stated: "We'll see. Hopefully Giakoumakis needs to be OK, (primarily based) on the studies I've had thus far. Cameron Carter-Vickers, we'll simply see. He is a everyday proposition."