CARL STARFELT has revealed most of the Celtic players have been on the receiving end of a verbal volley from Ange Postecoglou.
No-one is safe in the dressing room or on the training field if the boss believes he has witnessed anyone slacking or dropping off the pace.
Television footage emerged last week of a clearly incensed Postecoglou ripping into his Australian players during his stint as Socceroos gaffer, as CQN highlighted.
The gaffer had a full head of steam as he made his observations in a fairly colourful manner and no-one on the receiving end was left in any doubt about his displeasure.
A BIG HAND…Ange Postecoglou acknowledges the efforts of his players and the support from the fans after another Celtic success.
Postecoglou has lost none of that desire since leaving his adopted country in 2017 to spend three and a half years in Japan before arriving in Scotland as Neil Lennon’s long-term successor in June last year.
Central defender Starfelt was one of the Greek-Australian’s first buys for the Hoops at £4.2million from Rubin Kazan a month after kicking off the Ange Revolution at Parkhead.
Asked if he had been aware of the eye-opening fly-on-the-wall documentary, the Swedish international answered: “Have I seen it? Yes! He is a really good manager and he knows what he wants. If someone falls out of it he will push them back into it.
“I think most of the boys have experienced the temper at some point. The manager sets high standards and I think that’s how it should be.
“Every player pushing for Celtic and more should have high standards. If you throw players excuses then they will have them. You have to go out there and perform no matter the circumstances.”
NINE IN A ROW…Carl Starfelt celebrates after scoring the final goal in the 9-0 romp against Dundee United at Tannadice in August.
The champions went into the World Cup break with a nine-point advantage over their nearest challengers who responded by sacking manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst after the Dutchman had been in charge at Ibrox for only one year and three days.
Postecoglou and the Hoops hierarchy are not concerned with events across the city, though, as they maintain their focus on driving Celtic to higher levels.
Nothing is taken for granted and Starfelt, speaking to the Daily Record, added: “Is the league done and dusted? No, absolutely not.
“There is a long season ahead and we are not even close to the halfway point. We always take it game by game, like we did last season.
“I think we also have very high standards. The manager is always pushing us to never relax.
“You can see it in training every day. I am not worried about complacency.”
Postecoglou and his Parkhead players, with the team winning 10 titles in the last 11 years, get back on the trail of another championship when the league restarts with a game against Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Saturday afternoon December 17.
