Why Celtic's manager shrugged off praise from Falkirk's boss

You’ve had a bit of time to reflect on Wednesday night. How do you look back on the occasion as a whole, and the performance from your players as well?

Firstly, the performance was outstanding. It had everything that I would want - full of desire and energy. Then, the energy from the stadium was absolutely incredible. That combination is a real force and we seen that in the game. It was an outstanding performance, and it had everything that I would want from one of my teams. The only thing missing was a couple more goals!

Results have been good anyway so far this season. What can a result like that and performance like that do for the team going forward?

It can give us another layer of confidence. We’ve started performing really well with the intent in our game. Everything on that front domestically has been good. You take that into the Champions League and being able to do it at that level is also particularly pleasing, because no matter what is said, every team that plays in the Champions League is there believing that they are a big team. Obviously, there are some more prestigious teams than others, because of history, but every club that enters that competition has done well. You know when you’re playing these teams that you’ve got to perform. For us to play at that level with that pressure was something that didn’t surprise me - we coped with pressures last season - so that’s continued as a learning curve going into the other night. It felt like a really special occasion, and I said before the game that I felt ready going into this competition this year - more-so than any other time - and you can see that in the team and how they played.

How much can it help the development of the players who haven’t played at this level before, to experience that and have that belief that they can play that type of football and get a big result?

Those guys that are sampling it for the first time - we’ve got new players coming into here and a style of play that takes time to get used to due to the speed. They’re coming into a winning mentality and that will hopefully drive them on and push them on to perform here. Getting a sample of that and that feeling the other night was really special for those guys. Guys like Kasper - who has seen a lot in football - were taken aback by it all due to the experience.

The attitude that you got from the players, will that roll into Sunday’s match? 

I think we’ve seen that. That’s something that we had before, but it’s nice to just keep going. That is always the challenge in football - consistency. I’ve seen nothing but good application and desire. Our drive is to keep that going. This competition is important to me, it was the first one I won as a Celtic manager, so it means everything to me. We will be going all-out on Sunday to get to the semi-finals.

Have you spoken to John McGlynn since the draw was made? I know that the two of you used to work closely together.

I have a lot of time for John. We’ve exchanged messages and stuff, but I’m really looking forward to seeing him, because I’ve not seen him since I left here the first time. We’ve always been in contact and spoke on the phone and on various things. I’m really proud of him and what he’s done in his career since he got that opportunity again. What he did at Raith and what he’s now doing at Falkirk - he has done absolutely brilliant. I’m looking forward to seeing him, he’s a really good guy.

We spoke to John on Tuesday and he described you as a genius, and of all the coaches he’s worked with, you’re the one who took him to that next level. What does it mean to you to get that kind of praise?

The first thing I would say is don’t use that word! When that gets said, that’s when everyone chases you even more! I don’t need that! When I came into here, we brought in a structure and a way of working and a mentality that he was a part of. He seen it first hand and he was in it. He knows how I work and the levels that I go to. John always went the extra mile for me. He knew there was a big demand with the job here and what I wanted. He was a real team player. I’m more comfortable talking about him and his achievements - he’s done fantastic. I’m delighted for him and he’ll have a great season. Hopefully not at the weekend!

Are you surprised he’s not been linked with more Premiership jobs after going 43 league games unbeaten?

It does surprise me. I think sometimes what can happen is that experience can get overlooked because there is a trend for a younger manager to come in with fresh and new ideas. I still think you can be really experienced and have a young mind. That young mind with the experience can really take clubs forward. I’m not sure if he declared if he had interest or not in him - he may well have done, or he may be happy where he is. There’s no doubt what he’s produced in his two clubs since he left here has been absolutely brilliant. The style of football, the game he looks to play, it’s very impressive. That opportunity will come for him, you look at Gasperini at Atalanta - 66 years of age but he has a young and fresh mind and he really drives on the vision of his club there. As long as you have that young mind but with experience, then that can help any club. John is one of those guys that has a wonderful enthusiasm for the game. He can take any team forward, and without any disrespect to Raith and Falkirk, he can do it at a higher level.

You know from your previous time here what great Celtic teams look like. Does it feel like you're building something special just now with this squad?

Hopefully, over time that's the case. I think what I'm starting to see now is the identity in the team that I wanted. That took a little bit of time, but I'm clearly seeing what I want to see which is good. Now it's about building on that and building a really successful team. Our job here at Celtic is to honour and protect the great history of this club, and the winning mentality for the modern team to make our own history. We're in a really good place, but there's still a way for us to go. 

You're on a strong run yourself, in your previous time here you were 60-odd games unbeaten…

69.

69, sorry. Falkirk were unbeaten in the league last year. How important is that to make a strong opponent even stronger when you're facing that as well? 

When you go that run it tells you everything about the incredible mentality they had. You go all the way through not losing a game in the league, and then bringing that up into the Championship and not losing a game as well – that tells you that they're really good characters in there and guys that John trusts. Only recently they've had a few results that looked like it was going to a draw, and then they end up winning. That tells you everything about the mentality. The likes of Calvin Miller, Calvin was a brilliant player here. He kicked on, he was keen to get out and play, but I really liked his game. He was quick, he was direct, he was left-sided, although he plays more off the right now. But when he was here I really liked his qualities, and they've got dangerous players on either side, dangerous players up front, and so all of that into the mix gives them confidence. Clearly winning games in the league title and then taking that through it clearly gives you confidence. 

You've mentioned already how much this competition means to you. It was the only trophy you weren't able to retain last season. How important it is to make sure that this season the Scottish League Cup comes back here.

We've got work to do. We'd need to win our next three games to do that. This game now is about getting to Hampden and we assess it from there. Hampden is a place I've always loved, the size of the pitch and the support we have there. We've got a really important job at the weekend to get done, and, yeah, I said that at the beginning: every domestic trophy we want to fight for, and that hasn't changed. 

The first time you managed against John McGlynn was Hearts v Liverpool, what do you remember from those two games?

That was the first time I'd met John. We'd played the first game at Tynecastle and the return leg at Anfield. That was the first time I'd come across John, and, listen, hearts did really well in those games at the time. I always knew it was going to be tough at Tynecastle – which was a draw – and then the one at Anfield, they played with no fear and did well. Of course, when I came here, I remembered John from that and had some nice stories then. 

Team news – we didn't see Alistair Johnston training, what's the latest with him?

Yeah, we've got a few players with niggles so we'll have a wee look at that and assess that by the end of play tomorrow. We won't take any risks on players. This was the second day of recovery as well – we had a group recovering, a group outside training hard, and then another one or two inside just making extra recovering inside rather than out. 

Going back to Wednesday, you sat here before and said you would like the club to be a bit braver. After games like the other night, do you think that stance was vindicated? If we look at Engels, the big price tag and he delivered – do you think you proved a point to a certain extent?  

I don't think I proved a point, I think it was just a case of the board did great, they got the players in, and I said throughout the window that I knew the players I wanted and we all wanted the same thing. By the end of the window, if we'd gotten all the players we wanted to get in, then it'd have been a great achievement by all. And we did that. Now you see when you have that calibre of player in, what it can do. 11 million or 1.5 million – I will always look to develop a player, no matter what that price is. Or whether it's a young player coming through the academy. But looking at this particular group, coming in last year, working with them and seeing how we want to progress, there were certain characteristics that I felt that we needed. Knowing in the back of my mind that there was a possibility of, say, Matt [O'Riley] going. Not only are you losing goals, you're losing a presence, a set-piece expert because he was very good at those. Knowing that Arne fit that profile, that's why we were keen to get him in and help us.  I think the other night was a vindication for everyone. The board, with the money they've spent, I think they will have enjoyed watching the team. The supporters, watching the game, seeing the verve in the team, the dynamism and playing the attacking football that they want, and the players themselves on the pitch doing a brilliant job, fighting for the team, fighting for the club and producing great football. Which is the demand.

Did you feel that last season when there was a dip in the game but now you can bring on players and the intensity and level are the same? Is that one of the key differences? 

I think it is. There is a big cost in the way we play. There is a cost in energy. When that starts to drop a little bit, that ability to make changes to bring in and sustain that is very important. We saw that right until the very end of Wednesday night. It was probably something that last season it did dip and we were having periods but it was too inconsistent. Before the end of the season and through pre-season we were able to grab a hold of everything in terms of that element of fitness and tenacity and we should be able to roll that out. The subs are so important for us - five subs now - which allows us every chance to keep that energy and intensity. We have seen that through in this early part of the season.

With that in mind do you have to rein some of them in at times? Everybody who started on Wednesday wants to start on Sunday but do you need to say I have to turn this around a wee bit?

Yeah, I think it is why I get paid. My job is lots of thinking. It is about making decisions and looking at different situations. There is no point in having a strong squad if you are not going to use them. It was the beginning of the season when we were playing just one game a week there is not quite the same demand but we are now coming into a run of six games in 23 days and there is no way I will be using the same team in all of those games. We want to keep that intensity and keep that mentality and as the season goes on I need to have a strong squad. It's great as every player will always want to play and they will be disappointed when they don't but they are paid to deliver and these players are delivering and that's what we want to continue. 

I don't know if you saw Joe Hart doing his analysis but he was pointing out the role that Daizen Maeda plays in the team in terms of intensity. How important is he for setting the tone? He was tracking back and hunting the ball down and players were going with him.

That's where the game starts. I saw reports in terms of the team doing well and keeping clean sheets in terms of the goalkeeper and the back four. It starts at the front and what we are seeing from all those guys at the top of the pitch when they see it they are gone. That's our trigger and our reference to go. I would doubt there is anyone better in world football than Maeda at doing that in context. I have watched an image of the game and this is towards the end of the game and he is making a recovery run into the left-back position tracking their right-back thinking the ball is going to come across but the ball goes to the centre-half and he presses it and nicks it and he's away. Even if you can do that it is all about the level and the desire to do it which most players won't have. He could easily have dropped that press as he didn't have to do that one and that was the important one and he went and realised that he wasn't getting there, and he actually got to the centre-half before the guy that should have got there! It was incredible. It was unbelievable pressing from him but that's his mentality.

Given that level of intensity from him do you have to treat him any differently in terms of rest or anything like that?

We have to treat all the players and recover them in various ways but I have got to be mindful that Daizen is playing international football and travelling all around the world a lot of the time. These are the things that are important to you. We are also preparing now for the end of the season and making sure that you are conserving energy at the right moments. Like every player, we look closely at them in terms of what they are eating, how they are training and working and if they need to recover or start them or whatever. All of that is part of our programme.