Ange Postecoglou remains unshakeable in his belief that Celtic will eventually benefit from his all-out attacking approach despite a 5-1 defeat by Real Madrid rounding off the club’s worst Champions League group stage.
Celtic ended their European campaign with two points and a goal difference of minus 11 after Jota scored just their fourth goal of the campaign when he curled home a free-kick late on in the Bernabeu on Wednesday.
The Australian Postecoglou has come under some criticism – for the first time in a long while since he began turning around Celtic’s fortunes – from pundits such as Richard Dunne.
The former Republic of Ireland defender reckoned that Celtic, in order to progress, would have to soak up more pressure and stop matches turning into “basketball games” with their end-to-end approach.
However, Postecoglou is convinced Celtic will ultimately benefit from playing that way should they return to Europe’s elite competition next season.
Celtic had 82 attempts at goal over their six matches, more than the likes of Paris St Germain, Juventus, Tottenham and both Milan clubs in their campaigns.
“It’s fair to say that the responsibility lies with me because we have taken a bold approach to try to make an impact,” the former Socceroos boss conceded.
“We have paid the price for not having the quality and clinical finishing at one end and the opposition taking advantage at the other.
“But the key for us, if we continue to play like this and continue to improve and continually get to Champions League level, then I have no doubt that we will make an impact.”
Postecoglou cautioned it would be unrealistic to expect linear improvement each year and that things would have to go Celtic’s way, pointing out they were without skipper Callum McGregor and Jota for several games and were missing key defender Cameron Carter-Vickers in Spain.
But he added: “If we are in it next year, then I have no doubt we will make more of an impact.
“That doesn’t mean it’s going to be a massive leap – but I don’t think it needs to be.
“Bridging that gap isn’t immense but it’s the most difficult bit to get because you’re talking about scoring goals at this level, and it’s not the easiest thing to do.”
Postecoglou was disappointed for his players and the fans but not frustrated about the campaign, given how they had embraced his approach.
But finishing remains a problem. Real’s was in stark contrast to Celtic’s, with the hosts scoring two penalties before Josip Juranovic missed one for the visitors, who had 14 efforts at goal.
Postecoglou conceded: “For our guys, it’s a new experience, everything feels a little bit faster, it feels like you need to hit it that little bit harder to beat a world-class goalkeeper.
“But eventually, I believe, if you keep putting yourself in that position you will find that the game doesn’t change, you can still finish at that level.”
© AAP
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