HARD-TO-PLEASE Ange Postecoglou admits he was “disappointed” with some aspects of Celtic’s play, despite the 2-0 Flag Day triumph over Aberdeen at pulsating Parkhead yesterday.
The champions picked up three points with goals in each half from Stephen Welsh and Filipe Jota, but the lack of a ruthless finshing touch concerned the Hoops boss.
Chances were made and almost routinely scorned and the team got a scare just before the interval when Joe Hart was left standing following a sidefooted effort from ex-Celt Jonny Hayes that swept just wide of his right-hand upright.
The home side dominated proceedings and could – and should – have been two or three goals ahead at that stage.
Postecoglou said: “”It was a solid performance, but we were just wasteful in front of goal.
“I was disappointed because I thought we could have been a lot more clinical with the chances we created. If we’d taken them we could have put the game well to bed.
“Sometimes you can fall into the trap of knowing we will create loads of opportunities and because of that you are not as focused as you should be. My view is we are creating opportunities, so let’s take as many as we can.”
The Greek-Australian gaffer, speaking to the Daily Record, continued: “I thought we started the game really well and the first half-hour were really good. The last 15 minutes of the first-half we got slack with our passing and not as aggressive with our press on the ball.
“We let the game be more open than it should have been, which was disappointing. I thought after the break we got control again and we finished strongly. It was a decent work-out. Our movement was good and our passing was good.
“But, we could have had more chances if we made better decisions in the final third. You can’t just dismiss the last 15 minutes of the first-half. There are lessons in there as other teams may punish you in that period.”
Asked if the cutting edge would come with more competitive hours on the pitch, he answered: “The season has started. I don’t buy into that. We’ve goalscorers all over the park, so we need to be focused in all aspects of our game.”
Postecoglou’s only other worry was witnessing Reo Hatate on the receiving end of a couple of rugged second-half challenges before he was replaced by David Turnbull in 66 minutes.
Asked if the midfield dynamo was okay, the boss added: “I think so. He copped a couple of hard knocks, to be fair, and he was a bit sore after the game.
“I haven’t seen my medical crew.”
