Celtic's derby psychology, raising standards and transfer window reaction - Ange Postecoglou Q+A

You got Oliver Abildgaard in on transfer deadline day. Tell us about him and what do you expect him to bring to the team?

I am pleased to get Oliver over the line. It happened late in the piece and we had some moving parts in terms of ins and outs. We got opportunities for guys elsewhere and I was mindful of squad numbers. I had a clear idea of what I wanted to work with and things came together. We were able to get Oliver in and that was the last piece of business for us. It was great to get him in. He's a player who is a little bit different to what we have already got here in terms of his attributes. He is a top pro and everyone I have spoken to about him from a character perspective has said he is an outstanding person as well as an experienced and good player. I think he will fit in well with us. It just rounds off our squad and coming out of the window now I think it is strong enough to compete on all the fronts that we need to.

How exciting is it to be involved in a week like this for the club with a huge derby match and a massive Champions League game against Real Madrid? Is there a lot of excitement around the place?

Yes, there is. It is not unusual for this place to be fair. There are always big games when you are involved with this football club. From our perspective, we have been kind of planning ahead not just this week but for the coming weeks with the schedule, we've got. We are competing on a number of fronts and we are ready to go. The players have been really good through this early period in terms of navigating the fixtures and also our training schedule to make sure we are ready for what lies ahead. We are looking forward to it and it is important to focus on the next challenge. The next challenge for us is tomorrow. That is where our focus is.

Are you confident with the business the club has done that you now have a decent resource going into the domestic and European competitions for the season ahead?

I am really happy with the business we have done.

You have the chance to go five points clear at the top how big an incentive is that so early in the season?

It is so early in the season so zero. What's important for us is that we have grown into the season and we knew it would be a different start for us with just one game a week but our performances have been getting stronger every week and that is what we are looking for tomorrow. We want improvement in our performance, we want improvement in the way we do things, and play our football and overcome whatever challenge we have tomorrow and get the three points and then you move on to the next challenge. From our perspective, the incentive is to just keep performing at the levels we have and keep improving on them.

Does Oliver go straight into the squad for tomorrow and can you give us an update?

No Oliver will need some time as he has only had one session with us. We are in a better position than we were last year when we were throwing guys in. We'll let him get stelled and see where he is at from a physical perspective and make our decisions along the way. Squad wise everyone is okay after Wednesday night's game and I will make my decision teamwise tomorrow.

What sort of challenge are you expecting from Rangers?

A good challenge. They were a good side last year and they have started the season again strongly in the competitions they have been in. From our perspective, it is all about making sure we perform to the levels that we know we can and try and exceed them. When we have done that irrespective of the opposition we have been hard to stop and that will be our challenge tomorrow.

What have you learned from facing Giovanni Van Bronckhorst in the past and how does he approach these games?

I know it is fascinating for other people but I have never been into the manager versus manager thing as we don't play the game. I kind of assess each team as a separate entity and what you find is that they always evolve. They have had some changes from last year and they have brought in some new players and lost some players. Their basic structure is fairly similar to what it was last year with new additions and people leaving. It just changes slightly because of the qualities the players they have brought in have got. We treat every opponent in the same manner and we analyse them, we respect them, and ultimately it is about what we can bring to the table and if we can play our football and assert our dominance in the game.

How difficult is it to treat this like any other game given the intensity and what it means to the fans?

I certainly don't see it as any more difficult. You understand the impact it has on our supporters in these games. All of that is pretty much irrelevant if you don't play well. I have always laid stock in one thing. You go out there and you play your football and you try and be the best you can be. All this other stuff tends to take care of itself. If you need extra motivation tomorrow than you did on Wednesday or next Tuesday night then you are never going to be successful. The motivation has to be the same every time we are out there and that is to be the best we can be and play our football. We understand the significance of it to our fans and we understand the significance of it in terms of the league but that shouldn't mean we should be more motivated tomorrow than we were on Wednesday night. I haven't seen any evidence of that from the players as they treat every game with equal respect and equal desire to be successful.

Is there importance in the psychology of winning the first derby match of the season?

If I did I would be pretty down after the first derby match last season. I maybe would have put up the white towel. You can try and use these things but ultimately what is important is that you recognise there is a game on tomorrow and we have got to play well and if we win if we think that is going to give us some massive advantage that means we don't have to play well the week after then we have got no chance. It is still very early in the season and there are still plenty of games to be played and the whole psychological aspect of it - some people use it, some people think there is merit in it - I just don't buy into it and I never have. I treat every game the same for any other reason than I want to win every game. There is no game out there that I don't want to win or for my team to win. If that puts us one point ahead or five points behind all matters is there is a game to be won and that's what we are going to try and do tomorrow.

What does Oliver do for the variety and balance in the midfield for the season?

Firstly and it is no secret he brings a bit of size to our team. Most of our side would struggle to get on the rides at Disneyland and Gavin Strachan is pretty happy in terms of set-pieces that we can get some size in there. It wasn't just about bringing in another big body it was about the fact that I like that he plays that single pivot really well when he needs to. He can also play in a double and he's effective going forward and he can provide a shield in front of the team. If you look at other midfielders they probably don't have the same attributes but there is a commonality within all of them and that is they can fit into the kind of football we want to play and they just bring the qualities that they possess into it as well.

The free-scoring style of the team is receiving plaudits and rightly so but the guys at the back - Cameron Carter-Vickers, Carl Starfelt, Moritz Jenz, Greg Taylor and Josip Juranovic are the unsung heroes how much focus do you think will be on the defensive side of the game tomorrow as opposed to the attack?

Joe Hart will be disappointed you left him out, mate. You need a goalkeeper it doesn't matter how good your defence is. I think you are right to a certain extent but I think there is also a recognition that our defensive record is strong and has been for a long time and that is because of the collective effort of the whole team. What is under-rated is our defensive players and even Joe doesn't get as much credit for the goals we do score as they come from us having the ability to play out from the back and continue playing through teams or breaking down teams and that comes from the initial instigators of that who tend to be our defensive players in terms of our possession.

They play a big part in the goals we score. I know the focus is always on the ones who finish off the moves or who get the assists and that is a big part of it and it is the same on the defensive side. We have a strong defensive record because we keep the opposition away from our goal and that's a collective effort as well. All those defensive players would be the first to recognise the shift that the guys in front of them put in. For us, it is always about how we do things as a collective and when we are really on song like last week and midweek it is the whole group contributing to all aspects of the game. For us, it is the key ingredient moving forward and if we can continue to do that as a group it will make us hard to stop.

How pleased are you with the way the team are performing at the moment?

It has been a solid start I am pleased because you can go into a season like this knowing we have only got one game a week and we are working pretty hard in training and I didn't really change the team too much. What I have seen within the group is that the intensity has remained or it has increased and they have had a really good focus. If you look at our first five league games we have had Aberdeen and Hearts at home and both will do well in the league this year.

We have had three difficult trips to Ross County, Kilmarnock and Dundee United and some of those games haven't ended up being difficult from the outside when you look at it and we had to start the season strong to navigate through that and I have been really pleased with the way the guys have maintained focus through that. At the same time there is a lot of improvement in us and what's ahead now with the games we have and the challenges we have I am hoping will take us to another level.

Just one final really quick one, just how pleased are you with how the squads looking at the moment now the window is shut?

Yes, really good, obviously we had some objectives going into the window in terms of filling some noticeable gaps we had in the team in terms of the squad. Obviously, the priority was to retain Jota and Cameron and invest a lot of our transfer money into those two Michael Nicholson has done a fantastic job at navigating what our needs were. And at the same time like I said I was conscious that I didn’t want to carry a massive squad in terms of numbers and would manage to get guys opportunities who probably weren’t going to get a lot of opportunities with us this year, and also create a squad that I think will be strong enough for what's ahead.

There's a great togetherness at the club at the moment which is down to your leadership on the bus as we travel up on Wednesday evening. Nine changes to the team and there's a huge trust from within the fan base in your management and leadership. How happy were you with the attitude of the players, because we were certainly happy in the terraces, nine players coming is a huge upheaval but they were flawless at times?

It was brilliant but like you said whilst I'll sit up here and take all the credit coming my way. It's not just about me as you know we've got a really good dressing room, we got really good leaders in the dressing room, strong leaders, Callum and Joe and others and they’ve created an environment where no one is more important that anyone else. I know it sounds a little bit cliché but within our building here its really important there's respect that when you're coming here to train every day and the levels are so high and you know that some players don’t get the reward of playing on the weekend but will come in the next day and again put in a strong shift, there's respect among the whole group. Then when players come in as I've said to them all along they’ll all get an opportunity at some point.

They need to be ready for that and they’ve acknowledged that and they’re part of a squad and I want to compete on all fronts and we got a schedule coming up that would test any team, the boys have a really good attitude about it and real respect for one another. Even the ones playing Wednesday night were really happy that the ones that played did really well because they all know that we share in their success. If we are going to be successful we want everyone who plays and puts on their shirt on any given day to do well even if they're in our position and I think that’s the kind of dressing room that the lads have created and it’s a credit to them.

How pleased are you with the way the team are performing at the moment?

It has been a solid start I am pleased because you can go into a season like this knowing we have only got one game a week and we are working pretty hard in training and I didn't really change the team too much. What I have seen within the group is that the intensity has remained or it has increased and they have had a really good focus. If you look at our first five league games we have had Aberdeen and Hearts at home and both will do well in the league this year. We have had three difficult trips to Ross County, Kilmarnock and Dundee United and some of those games haven't ended up being difficult from the outside when you look at it and we had to start the season strong to navigate through that and I have been really pleased with the way the guys have maintained focus through that. At the same time there is a lot of improvement in us and what's ahead now with the games we have and the challenges we have I am hoping will take us to another level.

Have the nine players that came in during midweek given you food for thought for what is going to be a packed calendar?

I don't think it is food for thought I am just really proud of them and that's the kind of environment that I want. The guys who come in are going to put their best foot forward and be the best they can be. My decisions around team selection are always based on how are we going to overcome the next challenge. Which players do we need to do that? Once we've done that it moves on to the next challenge. I'll assess that separately. I think the players understand that I don't have favourites. People will always say this is his first eleven it is my first eleven until somebody gets injured or somebody is out of form and then somebody else becomes my first eleven.

The first eleven is the one that goes out there and when you put that shirt on there is an expectation that you will perform at a certain level and that's what the guys have embraced here. I was really happy as I have seen them work hard at training and training is different from a game but they rolled up there on Wednesday night and some of the performances from some of the guys having their first start were outstanding.