ANGE POSTECOGLOU insists Celtic will not make excuses if they do not perform and deliver three points on Livingston’s dreaded plastic playing surface tomorrow afternoon.
The Hoops have struggled to impress of the artificial pitch and were held to a 2-2 draw on their previous visit in January by which time hopes of a historic tenth successive title had been torpedoed.
Neil Lennon was just over a month away from his Parkhead exit, Scott Brown was red-carded while Jeremie Frimpong, Kristoffer Ajer, Shane Duffy, Ryan Christie, Patryk Klimala and Mohamed Elyounoussi all figured in another dismal display. Not one of those players is still at the club as Postecoglou prepares for the difficult trip on a treacherous surface.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT…Ange Postecoglou is Seville on Thursday night.
The Greek-Australian boss is aware the team have failed to master the dodgy underfoot conditions in West Lothian in the past, but will not be fazed as he continues to play positive, attacking football.
Postecoglou said: “Thursday was a classic example of that. We had plenty of excuses not to try and play football, but we didn’t do that and that’s the type of team we’re going to be.
“That’s how you build resilience, by coming through tests like Seville. People will look at the result and say we lost, but at 4-2 down we could’ve folded. However, we were trying to score a third and fourth.
“It’ll be the same tomorrow, not thinking about the limitations of what we can do, but making sure we try and play our football.”
SNOWED UNDER…Neil Lennon in the Livi dug-out during the freak conditions in the 2-2 draw in January.
Asked about previous encounters with plastic on his soccer travels, Postecoglou, speaking to the Glasgow Times, added: “There wasn’t really any in Australia and no teams in Japan had artificial pitches. With the national team we had to play on them a couple of times in Asia, but that’s really all.
“There’s a natural advantage (for Livingston) playing at home, regardless of the surface. It’s not just the surface it’s the dimensions of the ground, the crowd, a whole range of things.
“I’m not a fan of them, but I understand why they’ve been brought in. But a game played on natural turf is more of a natural game, for sure.
“We’ve just got to get through it. We weren’t far off on Thursday and if we persist with what we’re trying to do the results will come.”
