It is no exaggeration to recommend Ange Postecoglou didn't like what he noticed in Leipzig final week. It wasn’t a lot the outcome which floor the Large Aussie’s gears so badly, though the 3-1 defeat in opposition to Crimson Bull clipped Celtic’s Champions League wings.
So far as he’s involved, accidents like it will occur infrequently when he takes ‘his soccer’ and rolls it out onto probably the most harmful stage in Europe. No, it was the sight of his gamers retreating into their shells and resorting to a low danger, safety-first technique which turned a foul night time into an insupportable one for a supervisor who refuses to take a single backwards step.
That’s why he staged ‘an intervention’ at Lennoxtown final week, to remind his males of what Ange-ball is supposed to be all about. And it’s why he’s ready to cop the blame on their behalf tonight, if any additional Group F factors must be taken again to Germany by the identical Bundesliga huge weapons.
“It’s not straightforward. Once more, it’s human nature, significantly with the group of gamers now we have. They’re nonetheless experiencing one thing new,” Postecoglou mentioned yesterday when requested how he plans on coaxing the bravery again out of them.
“It’s by making an attempt to point out them that they've safety if issues go unsuitable. I’ll take the accountability for it. Don’t worry.
“It’s solely human nature that, enjoying away from residence in a Champions League sport and also you’ve equalised, you are feeling like you might be actually within the sport. You’ll tighten up a little bit bit and suppose, ‘Jeez, some extent in Leipzig can be good! We don’t need to give away this level As an alternative of passing ahead, possibly I’ll simply hit the protected go. As an alternative of constructing a run ahead, possibly I’ll simply sit right here in case we lose the ball.’
“So, that’s all a part of the method. It’s simply human nature. It’s about making an attempt to point out the gamers and get them to know that’s not the best way we’ve set as much as play, it’s not going to assist us in our endeavour to achieve success. And if it does go unsuitable in doing what I need them to do then I’ll take accountability.”
It does sound like an try at reprogramming the human mind. However Postecoglou disagrees.
He went on: “It’s not re-programming. If you wish to enhance, if you wish to get higher, you’ve acquired to get out of that type of insecurity you might have about something and be daring in your strategy. That’s my view, anyway.
“Others may have a unique view. However that’s form of my view why we play our form of soccer. It’s why we take the strategy we do.
“It’s why I signal the gamers I've and put the staff collectively the best way I've as a result of it’s designed to play this sort of soccer.
“If I had a unique strategy and we had been arrange a bit extra defensively structured, I’d have completely different gamers in there and we’d play a unique method. So, it doesn’t swimsuit us anyway.”
And tonight - roared on by a fever pitch Celtic Park crowd - Postecoglou is satisfied his gamers won't be responsible of constructing the identical errors. He nodded: “Completely that’s the case.
“Even within the first sport in opposition to Actual, I believe if Callum’s strike goes in as a substitute of hitting the submit, I don’t suppose you'll’ve seen us going into our shell – even at 1-0 up in opposition to Actual.
“With the group behind them and being at residence, that will’ve inspired you. However, once more, we’ve acquired to expertise all this stuff.
“That is the primary time we’ve been away from residence. We acquired ourselves again into the sport.
“It was form of the other in opposition to Shakhtar, we actually went for it on the finish and we must always’ve acquired a winner. However we had been going for it, we weren’t settling for some extent.
“However once more it’s one other stage up. So for me it’s simply a part of the journey we’re on, a part of the method we’ve acquired to undergo.”
He definitely makes a compelling argument even when the proof is beginning to pile up in opposition to it.
The onerous truth of the matter is that failure to assert a primary group win tonight will go away Postecoglou and Celtic anchored to the underside of the group after 4 video games with little or no probability of constructing the knock-out phases
And but Postecoglou will not be taking a look at this by way of a brief time period lense. He mentioned: “If it was simply fixable, you’d see much more groups profitable the Champions League however you don’t.
“There’s a purpose why a choose few do and a choose few get by way of to the latter phases. However you’ve acquired to aspire to get there. And that is one of the best ways ahead for us.
“We’ve acquired to chip away at it. You possibly can sit right here and simply say they're at all times going to be forward of us, all these huge golf equipment, and we're by no means going to bridge the distinction. All we will possibly intention for is taking a scalp or two alongside the best way.
“Or you'll be able to attempt to chip away at it. And my view is we chip away at it by taking the sport to them each time you play them and hopefully you edge nearer each time you might be on the market.
“We're going to should be very, superb tomorrow night time.
“However the one method we will inch in the direction of a membership like that and a number of the different golf equipment like that's by taking the strategy now we have.”
There'll, then, be no tactical tweak designed to make Celtic extra defensively sturdy and higher in a position to deal with what's successfully a Leipzig entrance 4. That’s merely not his fashion.
Postecoglou mentioned: “I don’t suppose it’s about tweaking what we do. Each time we play it doesn’t matter who the opposition are, they’ve at all times acquired strengths.
“We take a look at the best way we play and the way we will negate these strengths.
“As we confirmed final week if we give them alternatives by giving the ball away or enjoying in our half for too lengthy, they are going to damage us. You’ve acquired to bear in mind defensively in transition particularly.
“In the event that they win the ball they're going to go 100 miles per hour in the direction of your purpose so now we have to be set-up to cease that.
“However the flip facet of that's we may have some alternatives going the opposite method if we play soccer of their half.
“Now we have the same kind of set-up by way of our entrance line the place we're going to damage them too.”
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