ANGE POSTECOGLOU could not hide his abject disappointment after Celtic’s 3-0 failure at Ibrox.
It didn’t matter that the Premiership title was won for a second successive season against Hearts at Tynecastle a week ago as he reflected on a dreadful performance from his players.
The champions just didn’t turn up, conceded a sloppy goal in the fifth minutes, missed a marvellous opportunity to equalise two minutes later when Oh Hyeon-gyu clipped a post when he should have scored and then allowed their opponents to score with a header from a straightforward corner-kick delivery from the right after the half-hour mark.
BIG SHOUT…Ange Postecoglou claims for a penalty-kick after the ball hits Connor Goldson on the arm, but the referee ignored the demand.
In the 70th minute, Callum McGregor and Cark Starfelt, two players who failed to impose themselves on the contest, got in a fankle and allowed Fashion Sakala to race away, round the exposed Joe Hart and roll in the third.
It was Celtic’s first league defeat since their loss to St Mirren in Paisley in September and the manner of the capitulation clearly frustrated the manager.
Postecoglou said tersely: “It was a disappointing day for us. We never really got going. We had a couple of really good opportunities to get back in the game and we let ourselves down in those areas.
“Then in the second-half, we didn’t really get going and didn’t make much of an impact in the game.
“It’s not the first time that players have been thrown into the derby under me and those are the expectations.”
GRIM VIEWING…Ange Postecoglou and substitute Kyogo Furuhashi watch Celtic stumble at Ibrox.
The Hoops gaffer, speaking to Celtic TV, added: “From our perspective, we had a team out there that we thought could get the job done – and we didn’t.
“We’ll get back to work during the week and make sure we train really well, concentrating on the aspects of the game that are important to us and be ready for another tough game.”
Next up for the Hoops are St Mirren at Parkhead on Saturday when the fans will at last get the opportunity to celebrate the club’s 53rd championship triumph.
