Michael Beale admitted after the game that he had no complaints as his side were defeated 2-1 by Celtic in the final of the Viaplay Cup.
The former Queens Park Rangers boss has done a lot of talking since arriving in Glasgow and although his domestic form was all but perfect apart from a draw in the New Year derby, he hasn’t been able to close the gap on league leaders Celtic who have only made the gap wider as they have extended their goal difference in the league to 26.
Heading into the match, Beale had described Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou as ‘lucky’ and also got sucked into a ding-dong with former Hoops striker Chris Sutton. It’s not Postecoglou’s style to get dragged into such nonsense and he let his side do his talking for him.
For once, following the conclusion of the match he gave Celtic praise and had no complaints about the final outcome of the match.
“I didn’t feel we started the game very well and it took until half time for us to really show something in the game how we wanted,” said Beale speaking to [Viaplay Sports].
“No complaints on the day, I think these are the sort of days where although they’re fine margins in cup finals you’ve got to do better in and around the boxes.
26th February 2023; Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland: Scottish Viaplay Cup Football Final, Rangers versus Celtic; Celtic Manager Angelos Postecoglou lifts the cup
“These are the days where you realise how big your job is.
“Fair play to them, on the day they won the final so I’ll congratulate them on that and then we’ve got to move forward quickly.”
Celtic have played so many finals in recent years at Hampden and just always know how to get the job done and do their talking on the pitch.
Postecoglou demands high standards from his players and although the Hoops made it a bit difficult for themselves towards the end of the game, they got there in the end which was all that mattered.
