Ange Postecoglou was in his usual expansive mood as he met the broadcast and written press yesterday afternoon.

The Celtic boss broached a variety of topics with his usual forthright honesty and clarity.

The 56-year-old has quickly established himself as an expert media operator who always has something interesting to say and this was no exception.

Here are the key points he made to the press ahead of Saturday’s Premier Sports Cup semi-final clash with St Johnstone.

On the appointment of a DOF

"Unless you went to a different AGM, I don’t think that that is what Michael said that we are looking at a director of football. What he did say was is that we are looking to restructure the football department. We are looking at all areas.

"I’m very involved in that because ultimately the structure has to sort of fit in with what we are trying to build here. For us, the key to that is, for both Michael and I is to get the right people in.

"I don’t think that he mentioned director of football, I certainly haven’t mentioned director of football, its not something that is in our minds. In our minds is to get certain people in certain areas that we think needs bolstering in this organisation."

The comment came about after a journalist erroneously suggested that chief executive Michael Nicholson had stated he's working towards the appointment of a director of football at the AGM on Wednesday.

It’s safe to say from this reaction then that Celtic and their manager don’t feel the addition of a sporting director is necessarily a useful addition for the club. It’s a route well-travelled by most major European sides, not least their rivals across the city, but Celtic clearly feel comfortable with the traditional manager role that has stood them in good stead for the majority of their history.

You get the impression that Postecoglou is a man who wants to put his personal stamp on the entire club. He obviously has no plans to dilute his influence by giving some of it away to a person that would effectively become his line manager.

That said, Celtic aren’t shirking on the notion of bringing in support staff. There are areas in sports science and recruitment where the Aussie feels additions can help and he’s got enough clout to make that happen when the right person becomes available.

On players out of the loop like Barkas and Ajeti

“No one needs to convince me. How they present themselves every day is all I need. Whilst everyone sees the end product on a game day, what we do in training is vital to our football and that only happens if everyone is contributing in training, the ones who are playing and the ones who aren’t.

“They’re still representatives of this football club and they’re still contributing to what we are doing.

“Everyone wants to play and people are disappointed when they don’t but ultimately you have an obligation and a responsibility to come here every day and be the best you can be.

“All the guys in the squad at the moment are doing that. There’s no one who I feel isn’t putting in or showing signs of disenchantment from the point of view of not wanting to contribute.

“At the same time if there ever comes a point where people feel this is not the place for them then I’m happy to have that conversation and we will do what’s best for this football club.”

Albian Ajeti and Vasilis Barkas cost the best part of £10m to bring to Paradise but the quality of return on investment has been scant so far.

Barkas looks a lost cause - a keeper who doesn’t make saves, a situation that Joe Hart’s excellence has only further underlined. Meanwhile, there’s a player there somewhere in Swiss striker Ajeti but he doesn’t look suited to the high energy outputs required for Angeball.

The manager isn’t going to write anyone off, after all, he’s already had to turn to Ajeti during one injury crisis and he’s long enough in the tooth to know that alienating players can be a road to ruin.

Neither of these players will be in Postecoglou’s long term plans, but he’s too savvy an operator to rule anything out.

On players available to face St Johnstone

“Giakoumakis picked up a knock in the Dundee game. He played on but he didn’t feel right after the game, so we got it checked out.

“It’s nothing serious but it will keep him out for a couple of weeks.

“Everyone else is OK. The international boys all came through unscathed, so they are all good.

“Carl and Tom are touch and go. They will train on Friday but they are more unlikely than likely right now.”

Greek striker Giakoumakis has had a torrid start to his Parkhead career and questions are already being asked about his suitability. It’s too early for that of course, but this is Celtic, and at a club of this size and stature, people make snap judgements. He needs to get himself into the right shape pronto if he’s to begin to quell whispered murmurs of discontent over his contribution so far.

Starfelt and Rogic’s return would be significant additions in a crucial match but it sounds like the cup tie will be a touch early. You'd wager you're more likely to see them against Leverkusen on Thursday, taking up a place on the bench.

On the stresses of international week

"It's bloody stressful, mate! I'm wishing they do well, but also crossing my fingers that nothing happens to them from a physical perspective.

"But I've always seen it as a positive thing. We've got Josip Juranovic qualifying for the World Cup so we've got one Celtic player who will be there next year.

"Hopefully he's joined by his Scotland counterparts if they get through the next phase.

"Obviously Kyogo and Tommy with their respective nations too.

"I've always seen it as a good thing. Obviously I've coached a national team, so I think it adds to a player's belief and confidence."

Ange is always good for at least one zinger per press conference and,“It’s bloody stressful mate!” is the Aussie at the top of his game.

Life as Celtic manager isn’t easy at the best of times but with a paper thin squad, the Hoops are always two or three injuries away from a significant weakening of the team.

We saw how results and perfromances suffered with the absence of Callum McGregor and Kyogo earlier in the season and this is something the manager has to live with as he watches the national team games play out with baited breath.

This is a situation the board must address by backing their boss in the January window to give him some much needed cover, and crucially a wee dip in the old blood pressure.