Ange Postecoglou might have an exceptional domestic record as Celtic manager, especially when you consider the circumstances amid which he arrived in Glasgow, but his European record has been nothing to write home about till now. Yet, it is hard to blame him for the club’s struggles in the Champions League this season, when you consider the amount of chances that have gone begging for the Hoops.
Celtic have scored twice in the Champions League this season, with one of them being an own goal. But considering the amount and quality of chances that they have had, the Hoops could have easily been in the double digits by now, if they had been clinical in front of goal.
Postecoglou’s system is leading to big chances for Celtic, even against top European oppositions like Real Madrid and RB Leipzig. Unfortunately, they have failed to convert them.
One man who has struggled badly in front of goal this season is Daizen Maeda, with the Japanese star scoring only once till now. And Postecoglou has admitted that he needs to improve in this respect. As reported by Glasgow Live, the Celtic boss said:
"“It’s just perseverance. I know people look at the end product – and he was a bit unlucky on a couple of occasions, but he puts in an enormous work-rate. We felt from last week, down their right-hand side, they could be a threat going forward and I thought his defensive work was outstanding. And that helps us as a team.“But he has got to learn the other side of the game at this level is really important in terms of finishing the end product.“He keeps getting into those positions, every game he does, but goals are eluding him. But we can’t scrap him just because he is not the finished product yet.“We have just got to persevere. All our players, apart from Joe (Hart), if you look at them age-wise and experience-wise, this is a massive jump for all of them.“I am being really ambitious with the way I want to play our football and that’s going to be testing for them. But I am not discouraged by the way we are going. If anything, I am encouraged that we need to keep going down this route.”"
Postecoglou admits that Celtic star needs to improve
It is safe to say that Maeda has struggled to find the back of the net this season. In fact, one would have expected him to improve in this respect this time around.
He was not bad infront of goal last season at all and with Scottish experience under his belt, the expectation was that he would become more clinical. But the opposite has turned out to be the case unfortunately for the Japanese international.
What is even more surprising about this is the fact that he was actually the J League top scorer in the 2021 season, so he certainly knows where the goal is. At the moment though, he seems to be either lacking confidence or has just failed to adapt to the European and Scottish game, potentially both.