Ange Postecoglou makes decision on six Celtic stars following Euro 2020 involvement

Ange Postecoglou has given six Celtic players extra time off before reporting back for pre-season.

Ange Postecoglou take charge of his first Celtic training session today. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

The newly appointed head coach takes charge of his first training session at Lennoxtown today but Callum McGregor, Ryan Christie, Greg Taylor, David Turnbull, Jack Hendry and James Forrest will not be involved after taking part in Scotland’s Euro 2020 campaign.

Only McGregor featured in the 3-1 defeat to Croatia that confirmed Scotland’s exit from the tournament on Tuesday, but the former Australia boss has given the sextet some time off to recharge the batteries before welcoming them back into the fold.

"The first thing is to give them a bit of a break because physically and emotionally they've been on a bit of rollercoaster and it's always good for them to have a bit of a break,” Postecoglou told Celtic TV.

“I’m sure as soon as they are ready to come back in it'll be great to meet up with them and I'm sure they'll be as enthusiastic as anyone to get going.”

McGregor has already made an impression on the new manager after Postecoglou admitted was he impressed with the midfielder’s performances against England and Croatia, where he also scored his first goal for Scotland.

"Callum was outstanding,” he said. “I watched the England-Scotland game live and he was great that night and he put in another great performane the other night.

"I think all the lads would have had a real positive experience. I know it didn’t end up fantastic but just being part of a major tournament, I know they will come away from that full of confidence. They'll need a little bit of a break now, but I can’t wait to get them back here.”

Postecoglou is looking forward to getting on the training pitch for the first time after spending the past 10 days in quarantine following his move from Yokohama F Marinos.

“It's been a tough three weeks to get here, but I'm super-happy to be here,” he said.

“It's been a bit of a whirlwind but I knew that until I got here it probably wouldn't sink in that I'm the new Celtic manager, and I can get cracking, start working, get to meet everyone, and really put everything in place that we need to.”

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