ANGE POSTECOGLOU has shrugged off bizarre comments from Ibrox coach Neil Banfield who claimed the Celtic boss had made a remarks that had “a little taste in the mouth”.
The Govan official made the statement in the aftermath of the Hoops’ 2-1 League Cup Final victory over Michael Beale’s side at Hampden in February.
The Glasgow rivals square up again in the national stadium tomorrow in the Scottish Cup semi-final and Postecoglou is not allowing anything to cloud his focus as he prepares his players.
CELTIC ON MY MIND…Ange Postecoglou’s focus will not waver.
Asked what he thought of Banfield’s comments, the Greek-Australian gaffer said: “Nothing. I’m not really sure what he’s referring to. It was mentioned to me that he was upset about something.
“I’ve said it a million times, every manager and every representative of every football club has the platform to use it the way they like to.
“It’s my prerogative not to worry about what they say. Look, if I was going to worry about what people say I wouldn’t have lasted a month here.
“They hardly rolled out the red carpet for me and I managed to survive that. There’s not much anyone else can say that’s going to make me worry or think about it too much.
“I know what’s important and what we are trying to do is make our work speak for itself. That’s what we’ll continue to do.”
Quizzed if he had been irked that the Govan official had not specified what had actually upset him, Postecoglou, speaking to the Daily Record, added: “No, because I don’t care. It doesn’t bother me.
SHAKE ON IT…Ange Postecoglou and Michael Beale embrace briefly at the end of Celtic’s League Cup Final triumph at Hampden in February.
“If something has upset him, it’s upset him. He can explain it. It’s got nothing to do with me.
“Like I said, we all have the opportunity to use the platform we have to speak to the broader audience and how you use that platform is up to each individual.”
Postecoglou is a whole lot more concerned with the players he will have available for Hampden and he will have paid particular attention to Filipe Jota, Reo Hatate and Liel Abada during at Lennoxtown today.
All three have toiled in recent weeks with injuries, but will be available for tomorrow. It may now be a question of how many minutes the boss believes he can get from each individual in a fixture with extreme physical demands.
