NEVER too up, never too down.
Ange Postecoglou speaks almost in a constant 4/4 time signature after Celtic's matches while calmly explaining 'this is what we did well, this is what we could do better'.
He must have been chuffed with his side's performance and result in Budapest last night, where Celtic rather ruthlessly took care of Ferencvaros to keep their unlikely but possible Europa League knockout stage hopes alive.
Each of the starting front-three scored - Jota, Kyogo and Abada - in a performance that exuded attacking confidence and cohesion. The sort of verve that's been missing in some domestic games this season but was perhaps on display last night because of the nature of the opposition's urgency, which Postecoglou suggested during his chat with Scotland's written press journalists.
"They [the front-three] work awfully hard for the team in a defensive sense and, as I tell them, they'll get their rewards. It was great for all three of them to get goals - and quality goals too.
"It's the team we want and the kind of team we think the fans want. Ferencvaros have got some quality in their team but we managed to control the game away from home and that certainly helped us. We look at our own progress.
“It was a different game tonight because we knew Ferencvaros had to get a result. We face teams in our league who sit back very defensively. Today, we knew the game would be a bit more open. We managed to take advantage of that, especially with our strikers.”
Controlling the game is the vital factor in Postecoglou revealing he didn't flinch when Ferencvaros reduced the deficit to one goal as the game approached its embers.
David Turnbull, Callum McGregor and Nir Bitton combined well in midfield, although the latter was eventually substituted with cramp, explained Postecoglou, but generally, the Hungarians struggled to dictate the game's tempo and may well feel pretty flattered by the final score. Postecoglou certainly thinks they should, he told BT Sport: "I’m disappointed we conceded a second goal because I don’t think it was a true reflection of how we played.
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"I don’t think it was nervy. The fact we can get three goals away from home is because we will just go at teams. I still think that’s the way forward for us – the kind of team we want to be and the kind of team our supporters want us to be."
Pragmatism was the magic word when Celtic were being thumped by Europe's elite in the Champions League while Brendan Rodgers was in charge. Postecoglou's side lost heavily to a far, far superior Bayer Levekusen team on matchday two, but have scored three goals in two group stage games now as well as comfortably winning 2-0 in the reverse fixture against Ferencvaros.
The magic word hasn't been muttered or aired as much this time around, not that it would make much difference anyway, as the Australian again responded to the written press after praise for his attackers.
"We set a platform for them, we can't discount the fact our ability to play out from the back gives them good opportunities, rather than just knocking it long."
It truly is a team game and Postecoglou seems to publicly recognise that, week after week, when he's asked which one of his star boys shone brightest, adding to Celtic TV: "All parts of the team were functioning. The front three were great but they perform off the platform of what the other players are providing for them in terms of opportunities. Great rewards for them and three great goals."
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