ANGE POSTECOGLOU has made a stark admission as he looks to strengthen his squad for the forthcoming Champions League group stages in the new season.
Despite the ongoing Spurs situation, the Celtic boss was candid as he viewed the future challenges that lie in wait for the Parkhead side.
Postecoglou has worked wonders in the transfer market to bring success on the domestic front and he and his players are on the brink of only the eighth treble in the club’s history as they prepare for tomorrow night’s Scottish Cup Final against Inverness Caley Thistle at Hampden.
ON THE SPOT…Ange Postecoglou quizzed in the Open Goal podcast.
Kyogo Furuhashi, recruited from the J-League for a bargain £4.6million in July 2021, has spearheaded the Hoops in the domestic competitions and has claimed 53 goals while going about his business.
However, the step up to meet Europe’s elite saw the Japanese international fire blanks against Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk.
For a high percentage of Postecoglou’s players the battlefield of top-class European football is an unknown territory.
Looking at the Champions League obstacle course, the Greek-Australian gaffer, speaking to the Open Goalpodcast, said: “It’s a unique thing where you have to have experienced it.
“I think the players who experienced it this year will be better players, because for most of our guys, that was their first game at that kind of level.
“Those guys after that experience, after the way they developed, they’ll be better prepared for it. That’s what we were looking for.
“Our recruiting and transfer business is about how we can make ourselves stronger. So can we, as players leave, try and bring a player in who will make us stronger than the one who left?
“It’s not easy, it’s not exactly science.
“But, for the most part, we’ve done that. The experience itself will make us a better Champions League team, so if you’re talking about bringing in a player, it would be someone who has actually played in it.
“For us to bring in players who have played at Champions League level, it’s still out of our range.”
