ANGE POSTECOGLOU branded Celtic’s second half performance towards the end of the game as unacceptable.
The Celtic manager recognised how good a team Bayer Leverkusen were on the night, but he doesn’t believe the away side should have left Celtic Park with a thumping victory.
The manager believes some of his players accepted their fate and lacked discipline in the final stages of the game.
We created some great chances, the Bayer keeper came up big when it mattered and Joe Hart had to make some top saves too.
We didn’t deserve anything from the game, but 4-0 feels abysmal. Ange recognises that but also makes it clear he wants to continue on becoming a side that fears nobody in Europe.
“There were times when, particularly at the end, the players need to be more disciplined because it shouldn’t have been a 4-0 game, irrespective of Bayer being a good side.” Ange said to RecordSport.
“If we lost 2-0, we know we’ve created a lot of chances against a good side, but we fell away at the end through lack of discipline and for me that’s unacceptable.
“If you accept it, you won’t grow from it. If we’d lost 2-0 tonight or 2-1, okay. But when you lose 4-0, it’s not enough. It’s disappointing and that scoreline shouldn’t have reflected that game.
“I can’t let the guys or myself off the hook.
“We are not going to change our approach. I really believe that moving forward when we play in these big games I want us to be a team that doesn’t fear anyone. I want to be a team that goes at it and takes the game to opponents.
“That’s the kind of team we’re going to be and that’s what I’m trying to build. The process, yes, it takes time and we are going to cop some knocks on the chin like we did tonight but that doesn’t mean you have to accept that.
“You need to understand that’s avoidable if you do certain things.”
We have to remember the manager is only 3 months into a rebuild that’s still very much at its early stages for a variety of reasons.
Sensible Celtic fans will be patient, we need to see a marked improvement as the games go on or there will be more and more dissenting voices from stands.
Celtic fans will back a manager who is heading in the right direction, they done it once upon a time with Neil Lennon during his first managerial run. The supporters also know when they can’t back a lemon, and as we witnessed with Neil Lennon’s second spell, when things look bleak, there will be no place to hide.
It was all over within minutes of the start. The team does not have any self-belief or guts. If Celtic go down they are beat. If they go 2 up then they will draw. That goes for games against the top six in Scotland. To not see this is delusional. Ange is a goner. It is unfortunate but he is doing himself no favours and the confidence in the squad is shot. I would not be surprised if the rangers drop points at the weekend but I expect Celtic will lose. He is having a nightmare. You don’t recover from this.