I just won’t cop people putting in a 45 minute shift, my frustrations come out- Ange reacts to Raith victory

Ange Postecoglou left the Celtic squad in no doubt that he won’t accept half measures as they gear up for what is known as the business end of the season. 

Some fans are talking about completing the season with four trophies collected but that won’t be happening on the basis of a lukewarm first half showing against Raith Rovers. 

Postecoglou made seven changes to the side that had started against Aberdeen in midweek but there was a distinct lack of purpose and intensity about Celtic’s performance for the best part of an hour. 

Liam Scales opened the scoring in the 23rd minute but it wasn’t until Jota replaced the injured Mikey Johnstone in the 55th minute that the gulf between two divisions was obvious. 

Further changes were on the way before Giorgos Giakoumakis put Celtic 2-0 in front but with that cushion Postecoglou opted against sending Callum McGregor into the fray. 

? LISTEN: “We only played 45 minutes as far as I’m concerned”.

Ange Postecoglou was not happy with his team’s first half performance, despite their 4-0 victory over Raith pic.twitter.com/cZlaUSGLnL

— Clyde 1 Superscoreboard (@ClydeSSB) February 13, 2022

1 minute 20 seconds

The only thing, for me, the way that we set up, the way that we play our football, I don’t, I will forgive everything from mistakes to people making bad decisions and all that but I just won’t cop people putting in a 45 minute shift. That is all that it is about. 

So my frustration comes out. I just feel that every time that you put the shirt on and you play, particularly the way that we want to play …. there is a price to pay for it, that price is that you give everything that you have when you are out there within the context of how you want to play. 

Carl Starfelt and Matt O’Riley were left out of the squad entirely with around seven changes likely for Thursday’s Europa Conference match against Bodo Glint.