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Celtic are heading into one of the most important games of their season. They won the double last season and will have their eyes on going a step further and winning the treble this time around. For that to happen, they will need to get the better of the Rangers at Hampden Park this weekend in the Scottish Cup semi-final.
Celtic have not lost a Glasgow Derby this season till now, winning thrice and drawing once. They need to keep that run going. The Hoops lost this same fixture in the previous campaign.
Celtic cannot make the mistake of taking the Rangers lightly. They have only lost three times since the arrival of Michael Beale as the manager of the club last year. Two of them have been at the hands of the Hoops, while they also tasted defeat last weekend against Aberdeen.
Some comments from Rangers coach, Neil Banfield, have caused controversy leading up to the game though. They do not seem to bother Postecoglou though.
Celtic boss makes ‘I don’t care’ claim about Rangers coach’s comments
As reported by the Daily Record, when asked about the remarks, Postecoglou said:
"“Nothing. I’m not really sure what he’s referring to. It was mentioned to me that he was upset about something. I’ve said it a million times, every manager and every representative of every football club has the platform to use it the way they like to. It’s my prerogative not to worry about what they say. Look, if I was going to worry about what people say I wouldn’t have lasted a month here.“They hardly rolled out the red carpet for me and I managed to survive that. There’s not much anyone else can say that’s going to make me worry or think about it too much.“I know what’s important and what we are trying to do is make our work speak for itself. That’s what we’ll continue to do.”"
And when questioned if he was annoyed that Banfield did not specify what had actually upset him, the Celtic manager said:
"“No because I don’t care. It doesn’t bother me. If something has upset him, it’s upset him. He can explain it. It’s got nothing to do with me. Like I said, we all have the opportunity to use the platform we have to speak to the broader audience and how you use that platform is up to each individual.”"
That is the exact response that Celtic fans would have been hoping for going into the Glasgow Derby. There is no room for any distractions going into a game of this magnitude. Postecoglou will know that better than most.
The entire focus has to be preparing for the best version of the Rangers this weekend. And if anything less than that turns up at Hampden Park, it will be a bonus for Celtic. The Ibrox club have struggled to perform at their best when under pressure in the past though.