Frustrated and disappointed- Postecoglou’s surprise verdict

Ange Postecoglou is in no mood to soak up plaudits and hard luck stories.

There was barely a word of criticism inside the stadium or on social media last week following the 3-0 Champions League defeat from Real Madrid.

Two first half chances for Liel Abada, a Callum McGregor shot that hit the post and a chance early in the second half that Daizen Maeda should have tucked away all formed the post-match narrative.

After five years out of the competition it was a very respectable performance from a team that has been put together in just over 12 months but that didn’t provide their manager with any consolation.

Covering the media conference ahead of playing Shakhtar Donetsk tomorrow, The Independent reports Postecoglou saying:

I was a bit frustrated and disappointed because it’s not just about playing our football for a certain amount of time. I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t have done that for longer.

In the context of who we were playing against, I understand that you are playing against one of the best teams in the world at the moment, maybe the best.

And for us to be able to match them by playing our football was encouraging, but I didn’t see any reason why that couldn’t continue beyond the time it did.

Looking back, the disappointing thing was, when we conceded, we conceded again quickly. There was no need to.

If we had hung in the game there’s always the chance to create again and just because you concede to them, an unbelievable team, we should have just got back to it and kept playing our football. In the end we lose 3-0.

Tomorrow’s match gives Celtic the chance to make up on lost ground with Shakhtar enjoying a surprise 4-1 win away to RB Leipzig while Celtic were facing Real.

The Spaniards are expected to top the group but after Matchday One it is the Ukrainians who are looking best placed to advance to the knock-out phase.