Celtic coach reveals Ange Postecoglou factor behind Youth Cup win as Rangers seethe over red card

Celtic under-18 coach Stuart McLaren revelled in the Ange Postecoglou factor following his team’s astonishing 6-5 extra-time Youth Cup final success over rivals Rangers.

The Australian was a grinning spectator at Hampden as both sets of youngsters traded strikes and McLaren revealed that the Celtic manager had set his squad on their way to the national stadium showpiece with a spring in their step.

"I'm just so proud of the boys,” the under-18 coach said. “It was a great advert and both teams showed some real quality. I'm delighted for the boys. The good thing with our manager is that there is a real continuity with the way we work between the first team, the B team and ourselves through the academy. And every game is an opportunity to try and impress him.

“There was a nice good luck message from him to the group, and to myself this morning, which was terrific, as well as one from all the other first team staff and Callum McGregor. That was a nice touch for the boys, and I think they really appreciated that. Every day is an opportunity, if it’s a day at training, miles out from a game or at a cup final, it’s an opportunity to try and impress him. It was great that he was here tonight to see some of the quality we’ve got.

Celtic's Kyle Ure lifts the trophy after the 6-5 win over Rangers in the Youth Cup Final at Hampden. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

“He’s obviously a busy man with a very important job, and he’s not physically active at every game, he’s certainly got his finger on the pulse. He knows, well and truly, what’s happening with each one of the players and how they’re progressing. We’ll keep trying to establish that pipeline and have more of our younger players progressing, and hopefully see more debuts like we’ve had this year with Ben Summers and Rocco Vata.”

Meanwhile, Ibrox counterpart Cameron Campbell was left seething over the 80th minute red-card shown to attacker Zak Lovelace that he maintained “one hundred percent” changed the trajectory of the encounter. The product of two yellows both brandished by referee Sean Murdoch for simulation, Lovelace seemed harshly penalised for his initial caution.

“If you look at it, we are in the ascendancy and in my view I thought it could have a penalty,” he said of the incident 10 minutes from normal time that led to the forward going to ground in exaggerated fashion. “If you look at the nature of when it happened and the score when it happened, it totally turns the game, there is no question about that. Zak is saying there is contact. You have to remember what happens when players are running at that speed. When someone comes into your path, unless you are wanting players to stand and take a massive contact, players have to do something to try and avoid an injury.

“It is really difficult when you are running at that speed. I think it is a really harsh decision and it is something we will look to appeal. He is OK. The boys have got around him and this is where it is about being a team. It is not an individual sport and the boys have to go and help him out in this moment. He is obviously hurting. Every single player in that changing room is hurting, for different reasons. We have lost a cup final that we felt was in our grasp and we deserved to go and win for large parts of the game. Every single player is hurting.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou and chairman Peter Lawwell watch the 6-5 victory over Rangers in the Youth Cup final at Hampden. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

“There are definitely positives out of it if you look at our attacking play but you can’t stand here and look at the positives when we have just conceded six goals against Celtic in a cup final. That is just not the case. The days for reflecting and picking apart the game will come but right now it is more about managing the players’ emotions and getting them to deal with these situations as they occur.”