Celtic's Reo Hatate 'not fit enough yet' despite Rangers heroics as Ange Postecoglou reacts to topping table

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has declared the spine-tingling crackle of Parkhead in which his team produced a performance to match the ambience in dishing out a 3-0 thumping of Rangers as adding up to an occasion “up there” with anything he has known across 40 years in the game - the past 25 as a coach.

Yet, the Australian believes the victory, which moved Celtic to the summit of the cinch Premiership in establishing a point advantage over a Rangers side they ripped apart, is only a launchpad with players such as two-goal derby debutant Reo Hatate and his playmaking midfield sidekick Matt O’Riley not close to the fitness levels he is seeking from them. Yet inside 45 minutes, they were central to a three-goal burst that completely flattened Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men.

"I have been pretty lucky, I have had some special experiences in my football career and tonight was right up there,” said the Celtic manager. “From the moment we walked out, the wall of noise, the energy in the stadium was just outstanding. Form my perspective the anxiety grows because I wanted to repay that, I wanted the players to repay that and they fed ff the energy in the right way, they rose to the occasion and gave the fans the kind of performance that the supporters deserve.

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“I don’t want to single anyone out because I thought it was an unbelievable effort from the whole group. Reo is not fit enough yet, he has a lot of work to do and still has improvement to do but I knew what I was getting he is a quality player. Tonight he showed his temperament as well because on the big occasion when he needed to he had the quality. But he wasn’t the only one. I thought the whole group was outstanding. [It was] pretty much [everythng I was looking for]. Particularly with the context of the game and the opposition because they are a good side. They have been on top all year and only lost one game. It’s the same team that won the championship last year. So our performance in the first 45 was outstanding.”

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou reacts to the 3-0 win over Rangers. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou reacts to the 3-0 win over Rangers. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou reacts to the 3-0 win over Rangers. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

Posteocolgou won’t get hung up on Celtic sitting atop of the table, or consider any psychological implications of comprenehsively outclassing their title rivals.

“I don’t buy the psychological stuff. The important thing for us is that it doesn’t affect us. Our end goal is not to be in top spot, it’s to play football a certain way and to win things and we haven’t done that. I know what the players are like, they will do their recovery and then come back in on Friday and demand more of me and of anyone to get better. We want to improve and we will have to, to be the football team we want to be. We are still missing some key players.

“Being in top spot is a sign of our progression, absolutely, because we lost three of the first five or six so we know how the Scottish Premiership works. We had to be almost perfect to get to where we are now. We have been under pressure for a long time but it’s testament to the players’ character and the spirit they’ve got that they haven’t let that affect them. They haven’t looked at the table and the points and they won’t know.”

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