ANGE POSTECOGLOU has no intention in participating in football’s version of Tales of the Unexpected when Celtic play their last Champions League encounter at Parkhead against Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Ukrainians will provide the opposition a week on Tuesday as the curtain comes down on the side’s participation in the elite competition in the east end of Glasgow.
The Hoops will play their final game in Group F against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu in a match that could merely be about pride on November 2.
CAN’T BEAR TO LOOK…Ange Postecoglou turns away in dismay after another miss against RB Leipzig.
So far the competition has brought mainly woe for the Greek-Australian manager, the players and the fans with just one point from a possible 12, two defeats at home with five goals conceded and none scored.
However, anyone expecting a massive rethink in Postecoglou’s outlook or tactics is sadly mistaken and clearly do not understand what makes the manager tick.
The Hoops have passed up glorious chances in all four games and the frame of one of of the goals has seen both posts and the crossbar deny the home side on three occasions – Callum McGregor, Matt O’Riley and Greg Taylor all thwarted by the woodwork at crucial times against Real Madrid and RB Leipzig.
Postecoglou will not waver from his masterplan and said: “I just want players to get the rewards for their endeavours.
SO NEAR AND YET SO FAR…Kyogo Furuhashi reacts to a missed header against the Germans.
“I am trying to get us to play a certain way for a reason, to be successful. You know at this level if you don’t take those opportunities it’s going to hurt you one way or another and that’s been the story of our campaign.
“It has been a tale of missed opportunities. From my perspective, it’s disappointing for our fans and the players they don’t get rewarded for their efforts.
“Scoring is the hardest part of the game. It is why clubs spend hundreds of millions of dollars on players who do that. It’s not a case of sitting there and thinking ‘take your opportunities’.
“It is about experience, composure at this level. The fine lines and the stresses that are involved in playing at the highest level of club football.
“The experience can hopefully get your players to feel more comfortable in those situations. As I said, it is the most difficult part of football.
“For us, we have been unlucky, too.”
BIG NOISE…Matt O’Riley has his say as the Hoops prepare for their pre-match huddle.
Reflecting on the O’Riley shot that cannoned off the base of the left-hand post and was then smacked off the bar by Greg Taylor in the first-half against the Bundesliga outfit, Postecoglou, speaking to the Daily Record, continued: “We have hit the post twice in the same sequence and on any other day they could go in.
“But it is always going to be like that, even for the top sides at Champions League level.
“I said before the game, it’s just relentless and it is always going to be. You can play in this for 10 years and if you don’t take your opportunities, the opposition will. That will never change. That’s part of the process the players have to embrace.
“In the league, sometimes you can get away with it. You don’t have to be always clinical and you can still win a game of football, as we did at the weekend when we weren’t clinical in front of goal, but still found a way to win.
“That doesn’t exist in the Champions League and will never exist for us no matter how long we play in it. It will always come down to if we are creating chances and not taking them then there will be quality in the other team which will punish you.”
LOST IN THOUGHT…Ange Postecoglou watches as the Champions League dream comes to an end.
Celtic know there is still a chance of a place in the Europa League, but they must overcome a Shakhtar team that saw a win over Carlo Ancelotti’s side denied them by a fifth-minute stoppage-time goal in Warsaw in midweek.
Postecoglou, hoping to guide the Hoops to their first win at the highest level in nine years, added: “It’s important for the players, important for the club and it’s important for our supporters because they’ve been outstanding. You want something from it.
“I can’t fault our endeavour or the way we’ve gone about it. Our mindset has been great, but, ultimately, all of us want a reward along the way because it can accelerate the belief that already exists, so it’s an important game.
“It won’t be an easy game. Shakhtar have shown already how good a team they are and they have aspirations of going through, so it won’t be easy for us.”
Celtic fans know what to expect in another European night under the lights in the east end of Glasgow in 12 days’ time.
