Why Ange Postecoglou's dad would surely have been proud of Celtic against Real Madrid - Tony Haggerty

In the end, it was a no-contest... as you might expect.

The champions of Scotland were never going to be a match for the champions of European football, especially in their own backyard.

Professional, ruthless and clinical. Those three qualities have been the hallmark of the Bhoys domestically since Ange Postecoglou took over the managerial reins last summer.

Sadly, Carlo Ancelotti's Los Blancos also showed the Verde e Blancos that those are attributes you can show on the big stage when it matters most.

Perennial group stage participants - that's the platform the Hoops are aspiring to under the Aussie. Was this season a learning curve? Most definitely, and the manager certainly seems to think so too.

In the cold light of day, a 5-1 drubbing against Real Madrid may seem like a harsh reality check for the Parkhead club. However, the 57-year-old remains convinced that his team are on the right road. 

The ex-Socceroos coach deals with reality, always. He still believes in this group of players. If anything he has more faith in his system of play at the European level yielding success further down the line now than he did before.

Pundits like former Celtic striker Chris Sutton and ex-Liverpool and Real Madrid winger Steve McManaman said there was a naivety about the way the Hoops had gone about their business.

Pragmatism and shutting up shop are not words usually associated with Postecoglou.

"I never fear the worst because we still tried to play our football," he said at full-time. "I'm really proud of our players. We lost 5-1, and we understand that [was] against a fantastic football team but the players never stopped trying to play.

"We created so many chances and Thibaut Courtois was outstanding. I don't fear anything with this group of players. We lost to a very good football team and, at the end of the day, I am still proud of their efforts. 

"The key for us is to be here every year. I have no doubt that the players have grown from this.

"If you look at some of our players like Matt O'Riley and Reo Hatate, this is their sixth game of football at this level alone. I've got no doubt they will be better footballers and we will learn from it - but only if we qualify again.

"It took an enormous effort for our boys to match up with one of the best teams in the world and, if we go in with that intent every week, we will be hard to stop.

"I am disappointed for the fans and the players. I wanted them to get more rewards for their efforts and our supporters to get more joy. I am certainly not disheartened. I really believe that we are on the right track."

You can't do much when the Champions League holders find their groove and are bang in the mood in the confines of their very own partisan Bernabeu. The Hoops and Postecoglou can only live in hope that one day they can scale similar heights at the top level.

There is no disgrace in suffering a heavy beating against what the Aussie labelled 'a fantastic football team'. The Spaniards can be even better than the 'Real' thing at times and they were far too good for Celtic on this occasion.

It is, though, worth remembering that Postecoglou's main motivation and biggest driver remains his father, Jim. 

Ironically, his old man was a Real Madrid supporter and grew up admiring the swashbuckling Los Blancos side of the late 1950s and early 1960s, including legendary figures such as Ferenc Puskas, Alfredo Di Stefano and Paco Gento.

The Parkhead manager has gone on record as stating that he builds football teams in the image that he believes his dad would enjoy watching. It is imprinted in his football DNA.

"It's a simple premise," he once said. "It's important to me because that was the driver for my whole football career. He [his dad] was my harshest critic and probably all of you have similar kinds of dads. My dad never told me he loved me, he didn't give me cuddles. He was my biggest critic all the time.

"My childhood was sitting next to him at three o'clock in the morning watching football from this side of the world. He would always point out the entertainers and the teams that were scoring goals.

"He'd say ‘look at him, look at this team’ and that got into my subconscious. When I became a manager, that's the kind of team I wanted to produce. 

"He's not with us now, he passed away a couple of years ago, but he's in my head. I know that every time my team plays. I'll sometimes have an ugly 1-0 win and I know what he's saying: ‘Don't celebrate because that was crap’.

"I don't think that's unique, I think a lot of people resonate with that and understand that was how it was in my generation through having a similar upbringing. I just happen to be in a position where I can live that dream out.”

That's why Postecoglou will be determined to lead Celtic to a second successive Scottish Premiership title and gain automatic access to the promised land of the Champions League group stages once again.

The former Yokohama F Marinos coach was as proud as any father of his team's Champions League exploits this season - despite the results.

The Bhoys may have come up short in Europe but they went down fighting and all under their boss's terms.

No doubt the Australian will have been tempted to cuddle every one of his players and thank them for their efforts during this testing campaign. 

And despite their 5-1 bashing in the Bernabeu, you get the feeling that if he were alive today his father would have thrown his arms around his son and given him that long elusive hug.

He surely wouldn't have criticised him, not this time. He may well have enjoyed watching this Celtic team pit their wits against his heroes in white.

There is no doubt he would also have been as proud as punch for another reason: because his son stuck to his guns, his principles and his football philosophy even when all the critics were lining up to have a pop at him for it.

It is, after all, only in those moments that you truly learn that you are on the right road. In that sense, Postecoglou and his Hoops still have many more of their dreams to live out.