ANGE POSTECOGLOU revealed he was red faced in embarrassment when he discovered he was the last Celt standing on the pitch at Parkhead in midweek.
The Hoops heroes lapped the pitch in front of 60,000 ecstatic fans following the 3-0 demolition job on Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s shell-shocked outfit in the derby.
Two memorable strikes from Reo Hatate and one from Liel Abada had Ange’s men soaring to the top of the Premiership as the visitors reeled before the half-time whistle.
The delirious home support spent a most enjoyable 95 minutes’ worth of action in Paradise as their favourites swept aside any challenge from the Ibrox club and coasted through the second period.
The players, with masked marvel Callum McGregor leading the parade, took a bow in front of their joyous and celebrating followers.
YOU WILL WALK ALONE…Ange Postecoglou was the last Celt standing.
A clearly delighted Postecoglou followed his stars as they applauded the fans who had given them massive vocal backing all the way through.
However, the manager got caught up in the moment and hadn’t noticed when McGregor and Co decided to take their leave and disappear down the tunnel on their way back to the dressing room.
Postecoglou said: “The whole night was pretty special from the moment we walked out.
“You can just feel the energy in the stadium and how our supporters were getting behind the team.
“The performance of the boys was worthy of that support. I took my time acknowledging them after the game because it was important we did that.
“I realise in the end I took too long because I was the only one out there! I had to run off pretty quickly, I was a bit embarrassed by it.
HAIL HAIL…Celtic stars in lap of honour at Parkhead on Wednesday: Cameron Carter-Vickers, Daizen Maeda, Liel Abada, Ismaila Soro, Callum McGregor and James Forrest.
“As I was walking around, I noticed they were all still there. None of them had left early. It was important to acknowledge them and just take it in and experience it for myself.
“It was a special night and something you want to store in the memory bank to recall in your retiring years.”
Postecoglou is now plotting for his team’s visit to Fir Park to take on Motherwell in Sunday’s 1.30pm kick-off.
The Greek-Australian gaffer, speaking to the Daily Record, added: “The main objective will be to play our best game of the year. Let’s play better than we’ve played so far.
“The last game was good, but we don’t want to repeat that, we want to IMPROVE on it.
“It doesn’t always work out that way. Sometimes the opposition can stop you from playing at those levels.
“But in terms of the intent, of course we want to improve.”
