ANGE POSTECOGLOU has been set a No.1 poser ahead of the Premier Sports League Cup opener against Ross County in Dingwall on Wednesday night.
The Celtic boss is pondering over the possibilities of rotating his squad as he prepares for the first defence of the trophy the Hoops won in December when Kyogo Furuhashi fired in a double salvo in the second-half to down Hibs 2-1 at Hampden.
Joe Hart played against the Easter Road side as Postecoglou picked up his first piece of silverware after being named Neil Lennon’s long-term successor six months earlier.
GLOVE STORY…Joe Hart and Benji Siegrist chat after Celtic’s 3-0 Scottish Cup win over Dundee United at Tannadice in March. The Swiss keeper joined up with the Englishman at Parkhead in the summer.
The Greek-Australian gaffer, who celebrated his 57th birthday yesterday, could utilise his playing resources with the first derby due against Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Ibrox outfit at Parkhead on Saturday.
Real Madrid are also due in the east end of Glasgow to kick off the Champions League Group F adventure three days later.
It’s food for thought for Postecoglou, but he insisted he will not make changes for the sake of it – and he refused to confirm whether he will give Joe Hart a break to introduce summer signing Benji Siegrist a first-team debut.
He said: “We’ve been working hard in this period to prepare a squad for all of these games coming up.
“Even the guys who haven’t had game time, we’ve given them bounce games to get to levels where they’re ready to go.
“It’s about a group of players. Sometimes we’ll take into account the previous game and how much that match took out of the players.”
NUMBER ONE…Joe Hart acknowledges the Celtic fans.
Postecoglou, speaking to the Sunday Mail, added: “But every time I’ll pick a team to get the job done.
“If I pick a Cup goalkeeper, I will be limiting myself. Goalkeepers want to play every game.
“Joe is our No.1 but Benji has been outstanding in training and Scott Bain is working hard.
“Come midweek, I’ll make a decision on what is best to win the games, whether that’s in goal or in any other position.”
* DON’T miss the unbeatable match report and best action images from Dundee United v Celtic this afternoon – only in your champion CQN.
