Celtic star’s Ange Postecoglou admission after European exit

It wasn’t a good performance from Celtic against Bodo/Glimt, away in Norway, by any means, even if it did improve somewhat in the second half. Ultimately, the Hoops exited the UEFA Europa Conference League in convincing fashion, with the Norwegian champions winning both legs of the tie and 5-1 on aggregate.

Ange Postecoglou had said that he had picked a side he felt could win the game, so it is no surprise that he would be unhappy with both the performance and the result on the night.

Celtic goalkeeper, Joe Hart, did his best to keep them in the game with some good stops, but it wasn’t enough to avoid defeat.

Hart did reveal after the game that the manager and everyone else was unhappy with the result. As reported by the Daily Record, the English goalkeeper said:

"“Of course he wasn’t happy. None of us were happy.”"

There is not a lot of time for Celtic to reflect on this defeat though as the games are coming thick and fast. Hart said:

"“The message is the same every game. It’s so clear from this manager. No matter what we always review and see what we can do better, if we’ve won 5-0 or lose 5-1, like we have in this tie.“We look for improvement no matter what. The games are coming thick and fast so we have to move on.“We put every game to bed and look to impose ourselves next time. We believe that will win us more games than not.”"

Celtic must now have their full focus on the league

The next match in the Premiership for Celtic is away at Easter Road on Sunday against Hibernian. That’s going to be an important match to maintain the lead and pressure in the chase for the title.

Squad rotation and depth will be critical over the coming weeks and it does feel like Postecoglou picked his midweek starting line up with Hibs in mind.

On reflection, most fans would far rather win the Premiership title and have a good chance in the Scottish Cup than get through another Europa Conference League round. So, if the players can pick themselves up and secure three points on Sunday, it will lift the mood enormously and still be a positive week in the overall scheme of things. It is not going to be easy though, with Shaun Maloney’s Hibernian team looking formidable.