ANGE POSTECOGLOU admits “it doesn’t matter” that Celtic won the Premier Sports League Cup in December last year.
It was the manager’s first piece of silverware after arriving six months earlier as Neil Lennon’s long-term successor.
The Greek-Australian gaffer had witnessed his team successfully negotiate their way through two huge obstacles at Hampden to claim the trophy.
They faced a fired-up St Johhnstone, the trophy holders, in the semi-final in November and it took a solitary goal from evergreen James Forrest, a second-half substitute, to shoot them into the showpiece showdown against Hibs who had walloped their Ibrox opponents 3-1 in their last-four encounter.
NATIONAL TREASURE…Ange Postecoglou with the League Cup at Hampden last season.
And the Hoops suffered a setback shortly after the interval when Easter Road skipper Paul Hanlon powered a header behind the stranded Joe Hart following a right-wing corner-kick delivery.
However, that effort was nullified in quickfire fashion when Kyogo Furuhashi whipped a Callum McGregor pass wide of Matt Macey and the Japanese international frontman capped the comeback with a breathtaking long-range lob from a swift Tom Rogic free-kick that floated over the towering keeper for the winner.
But Postecoglou accepts that is history now and the challenge is to lift the prize again in the current campaign.
The holders face Motherwell at Fir Park tonight in the quarter-final of the tournament and hope to be in the last-four draw which will be made at Ibrox after Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side face Championship outfit Dundee which has an 8.15pm kick-off.
Postecoglou said: “It’s just the nature of this football club that, irrespective of your recent history in any competition, particularly domestically, you have to be successful again.
GREEN FOR GO…Kyogo Furuhashi celebrates his League Cup winner over Hibs and is about to be congratulated by Tom Rogic who set up the opportunity.
“It doesn’t matter if we won it last year. We know playing for this club means you challenge for EVERY competition.“It helped us in terms of our progress as a team because the start of the year was very challenging and doing well in the Cup and winning it accelerated some of our progress and belief in what we were doing.
“In terms of this year, we’re expected to challenge and that’s what we will be doing.
“Our form has been consistent and when we play well home or away we know we’re hard to stop – and that’s our aim tonight.”
Postecoglou, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “Sometimes for clubs, the league has a lot of pressure because you’re always fighting for something and Cups give you the chance to free yourself up a little bit, which gives teams a bit more licence to be aggressive in their approach.
STOPPAGE-TIME HERO…Giorgos Giakoummakis is in the net along with the ball after his late, late strike against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.
“It shouldn’t affect us or our players because our approach is the same all the time, but for the opposition, a one-off game can lift their levels because they know they can progress into the next round and I’m looking forward to it.”
The Hoops firing squad had stuttered since their 4-0 Glasgow derby triumph and had claimed only four goals in three league outings, drawing a blank in the 2-0 loss at St Mirren, but getting back on the mark against Motherwell and St Johnstone, both 2-1 wins.
However, they came roaring back in fine style with Ton-Up Bhoy James Forrest leading the goal parade with a hat-trick in the 6-1 win over Hibs while Giorgos Giakoumakis, with a double, and Daizen Maeda, netting his first Premiership strike of the season, added to the extravaganza in the east end of Glasgow.
Postecoglou was not overly-concerned about the situation leading up to the deluge against the Easter Road side and added: “From my perspective, we need to keep doing what we’re doing.
HAIL THE NEW CENTURIAN…James Forrest celebrates his hat-trick – and 100th Celtic goal – in the 6-1 rout of Hibs at Parkhead.
“The worst thing we can do when the goals aren’t going in is change our approach because we know we are still creating our chances.
“The answer doesn’t lie in doing anything differently. It lies in believing in our approach and eventually we take them and that’s what happened at the weekend.
“We believe in how we play our football and if we weren’t getting chances then that would be a different discussion for me, but our football has still been good in that final third.”
Celtic won both their league games at Fir Park last season – 2-0 with goals from Filipe Jota and David Turnbull in October – and 4-0 four months later with a double from Tom Rogic and singles from Liel Abada and Maeda.
Some more of the same will keep everyone happy this time out.
*DON’T miss the unbeatable match report from Motherwell v Celtic this evening – only in your champion CQN.
