Celtic boss urges team to seize opportunity for first silverware

Ange Postecoglou is eagerly anticipating the Premier Sports Cup final,saying the opportunity is there for his Celtic side to deliver success.

Celtic face Hibernian in Sunday’s showpiece game at Hampden and for Postecoglou there’s a chance to win his first trophy as manager of the club.

The team have had a busy schedule of domestic and European games in recent weeks and the Celtic boss says that as they have dealt with each match in turn, there’s hasn’t been time to look ahead to the occasion. Now, he says he’s excited by the prospect of another trip to the national stadium and wants the team to make the most of it.

“It is only this morning that we started to prepare for it, doing some opposition analysis, and obviously there is a little bit of hype around the place with the cup final,” he said.

“I am looking forward to it. I enjoyed the trip to Hampden for the semi-final with everything that entails. It should be a special day.

“It is an opportunity for this club to win a trophy and get some silverware. Particularly after last year, it is something that we want to get back to doing as a football club and this is our first opportunity.

“Hopefully we give a good account of ourselves and take it.

“When I joined this football club obviously that was the aim. I was under no illusions, I had to try to bring success to this football club and the first opportunity to do that is on Sunday.

“I am sure it will be a great occasion, the atmosphere will be sensational and ultimately it is about us, preparing well and giving the best of ourselves on the day and hopefully that proves successful.”

This weekend’s Scottish football goes ahead against a backdrop of rising Covid cases and there have been some who believe the game should shut down for a “circuit break”. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has urged all supporters to take the utmost care when attending matches to minimise any risk.

Postecoglou doesn’t think a break is needed but stressed that these decisions should come from expert guidance and that public safety should be paramount.

“It is very hard to predict the future,” he said. “We can have a break and we may find the worst is still ahead of the break and that puts more pressure on fixtures and clubs further down the line.

“My gut instinct is we keep playing until it is impossible to do so or we get advice that is best that we stop playing.

“But that is me talking with limited information.

“The paramount thing is the safety of our players and staff and supporters and we have to follow the guidance.”

The Celtic boss does, however, sympathise with fans making the decision about whether or not to attend.

“It’s tough,” he said. “People want to live their lives and it’s very hard to dictate what to do.

“All you can do is provide the best advice to people and hopefully they take all the right precautions and make sure they’re vaccinated, make sure they test negative before going to the game and as much as possible limit their exposure there.

“But it is a challenging one. For supporters, they missed last year, and it’s a big part of their lives.

“I think sometimes people dismiss football as just another area of entertainment. We know that’s not the case. People have invested their whole lives into following this football club.”