Ange Postecoglou won't be a Cetlic 'martyr' - points from the presser

It was their fourth successive dumping in Europe's premier club competition at the qualifying stage after a 3-2 loss on aggregate.

Ange Psotecoglou addressed the media in the aftermath of the tie and he insisted that the loss was not as 'catastrophic' as some critics would lead you to believe.

Tony Haggerty pores over exactly what the Greek-born Australian said to every media outlet.

Ange to Premier Sport: "It was disappointing obviously, the players gave maximum effort.

"I thought we controlled the game up until we scored and we had a good chance to go 2-0 up and we missed that and they went up the other end and equalised.

"When they scored the momentum shifted and we got a little bit tired towards the end and could not find that little bit extra.

"I thought we scored our goal and started the second half really well and we had another great chance to go 2-0 up and if we had done that then the game would have been difficult to turn around.

READ MORE: What next for Celtic after FC Midtjylland defeat and is Joe Hart the answer between the sticks?

 "We got tired towards the end and we put in a massive effort and did not have that little bit of extra energy we needed.

"Midtjylland won they are through and they are happy.

"My players gave their maximum.

"It's just a start and this is just the beginning.

"We are trying to embark on a bit of a journey which will hopefully see our players play good football and bring success again to the club."

Ange sole focus in this interview is on the actual game itself but what's interesting is his strong defence of his players. It appears nobody will be thrown under the bus on his watch. He highlighted the fact that had James Forrest's not spurned a gilt-edged opportunity moments before FC Midtjylland equalised then the outcome could have been a vastly different one for the Hoops. 

Ange to STV sport: “I take responsibility.

“I’m the person who has been put in charge.

“We haven’t got players in, I obviously haven’t done a good enough job convincing people we needed to bring people in.

“I’m not going to shy away from it.

"I don’t say that because I’m some kind of martyr, I just think that’s my responsibility, that’s why I was brought in.

“I have been trying to be as forceful as I can about what we need to bring in, and the challenges we have had are well chronicled. "Irrespective of the result tonight, we still need reinforcements.

"We had a really young squad out there, young players on the bench. It’s not a situation we need to be in.”

Ange was brave and showed leadership in shouldering all the blame and responsibility for the defeat. You don't doubt his determination to convince the board to act in terms of recruiting players and it's clear he's well aware he needs new blood in and fast ... but do those upstairs really understand the panic? His use of the word 'martyr' was subtle but astute. It served to publicly deflect the flak from the players and onto him despite many fans believing that it was a sub-standard performance by his team. 

READ MORE: Odsonne Edouard's Celtic story won't have a happy ending and now is the time to sell - Tony Haggerty

Ange to BBC sport: “It’s pretty strong language, I don’t know what your version of catastrophic is but it certainly doesn’t fit my definition of what happened. This is obviously a disappointing night, disappointing we didn’t get through, I can’t fault the effort of the players, I think they worked their socks off, we controlled the game.

“We scored and then had a good chance to go 2-0 up and then straight away they scored and we lost a bit of momentum.

"We just looked a little bit tired in the end and lacked a little bit of energy to get back into the game.

“Catastrophic to me means the end. This is far from the end.

“You are suggesting this is a club falling apart and our season is finished, I don’t see it that way.

"It is important and Champions League football is a priority but I can't ask any more of the players as they gave everything they could and now we have a league campaign starting on Saturday and our focus shifts to that and we want to get off to a good start.

"We don't blame people as I take responsibility, you are using very strong language for something that I don't think merits that sort of view. I can't fault the players, I don't think they gave up or fell apart.

"It was a tight contest and we didn't get through so we move onto the next game."

The BBC interview was the one that caused Ange to bristle with slight indignation when the word 'catastrophic' was used to describe the defeat. The 55-year-old answered that charge quite forcefully and once again revealed an acerbic tongue that he will call events as he sees them. Ange was adamant that the result wasn't catastrophic for the club. “Catastrophic to me means the end. This is far from the end. You are suggesting this is a club falling apart and our season is finished, I don’t see it that way." The Australian has form for being prickly with the media in the past and that attitude re-surfaced last night. The Celtic manager was, of course, defending himself as well as his team from what he believed was an unreasonable line of questioning after just two competitive games in charge. It's the kind of gladiatorial moment that will be music to the Celtic supporter's ears and they will applaud him for standing up for his club - in public at least. Whilst the Champions League exit was a major setback in Ange's plans moving forward he was keen to stress the positives and insisted that his team were comfortably in the contest in both legs against the Danes. He also sounded a note of defiance by insisting that he would make sure his side are ready to face the challenge of Hearts at Tynecastle on Saturday.

READ MORE: Celtic are living through their darkest days since Fergus McCann saved them from catastrophe - Kevin McKenna

Ange to the Press: “I still think it’s my responsibility. I’m the person who has been put in charge.

“We haven’t got players in. Obviously, I haven’t done a good enough job convincing people we need to bring people in.

“I’m not going to shy away from it. I don’t say that because I’m some kind of martyr.

"I just think that’s my responsibility. That’s why I was brought in.

“I’ve tried to be as forceful as I can about what we need to bring in.

"The challenges we’ve had are well chronicled, but irrespective of the result, we had a really young squad out there with young players on the bench, that’s not the situation we need to be in.

“Maybe I wasn’t clear enough, I don’t know. I think I’ve been pretty consistent in saying we need more players in.

“The club is working hard to get players in. We talk endlessly about the challenges we are facing.

“For our supporters, they just want to see us bring reinforcements in that we need.

“I’ve just got to keep reinforcing my views on it as strongly as I possibly can.”

Two months into the job and not for the first time Ange's frustrations over the recruitment policy or lack of therein are boiling over. He took the flak for the Champions League defeat to FC Midtjylland as that's the way he wanted it. While he was diplomatic, it's hard to escape the impression warning shots have been fired over the bow at the Celtic board. He re-iterated the words 'martyr' and 'forceful' to the written press. Ange makes no apologies for his lack of tact when it comes to the club's inertia on the transfer front - "Maybe I wasn't clear enough". There is no reading between the lines or grey area here. The manager wants fully backed and funded in the transfer market by the Hoops hierarchy if he is to bring success back to Paradise. Publicly Ange appears a manager who will shoulder the blame for any losses on the pitch - but for how long? The Aussie strikes you as being the kind of character who won't put up with the status quo if he's unhappy or sold short. You certainly get the early impression that those working within the club and alongside him will not be spared if his transfer pleas fall on deaf ears.