Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou opens up on Tottenham links

It is obviously the final league game of the season this weekend. How important is it to sign off with a good performance and a good win before lifting the Premiership trophy at home in front of your fans? 

It's a special day. It kind of makes it all real, I guess until you get that trophy and get a chance to lift it then you know you are champions, but that's the moment you kind of look forward to. With the last game obviously being at home, we want to make it a great day in terms of just enjoying every aspect of it, including the game itself, which is probably the most important thing before we do that. So, the boys are determined to try and put on a good performance and hopefully make it a great afternoon. 

I appreciate you've been asked about various links between you and other clubs this season. Tottenham is the latest one over the last couple of days. I just wonder how aware you are of that and has there been any contact that you're aware of? 

Well, I'm aware of it because everyone keeps asking me about it. It's happened in the past. I think I've been pretty clear that it's just not the way I think and work. My priority right now is just looking at trying to make sure we have a special day tomorrow. We've got a big cup final coming up in a week's time. I'm not going to sort of sit there and sort of try and get distracted by things that are kind of fascinating for other people rather than myself. So yeah, that's where my focus is and that's what it will continue to be. We've got a couple of big games and we've had a fantastic season and we've got an opportunity to make it a really special one. 

Aberdeen, just like yourselves, have obviously already kind of achieved what they've set out to do this season. Do you feel like it's going to be a different type of game then as well as it being the very last game of the season but with a kind of lower intensity?

I wouldn't think so. No, I mean, Barry Robson has done an outstanding job with Aberdeen. They've shored up third place, and just like us, I'm sure they want to finish the season strong. It's a good chance for them to continue on their strong form in the second half of the year and certainly we won't be trying to dial down the intensity. We have obviously had a couple of poor performances and results and whilst we know that there are reasons for that and me being probably the main person responsible for it with sort of changing the team. That doesn't mean the players aren't disappointed with the fact that they haven't been able to perform at the levels they want. Tomorrow's the last opportunity we get to do it in the league. So, you know, from our perspective, we'll certainly be going in there to play the same sort of intensity in tempo that we usually do. 

You say you take most of the responsibility because of the changes that you've made to the team in recent weeks, but is there any concern there at all with the Scottish Cup final coming just off the back of the way the team has performed recently? 

Not really. There's a reason that we did what we did. I think in the context of the football we want to play, I don't think it'll get affected. The main thing for me is to make sure we kind of get through tomorrow, hopefully again unscathed in terms of injuries, and the cup final will be a different game. I've said 1000 times cup games are totally different to any other game you play. Form leading into it, even if you're flying, doesn't guarantee you a result. Even if you're struggling, it doesn't mean you're not going to do well. We'll go into that cup final game, irrespective of what happens tomorrow, ready to play our best game of the year. So that'll be our intention.

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Obviously, you talked about all the links and stuff like that. I just wonder how much you feel there still is to achieve here at Celtic. Not only obviously this season. Next week but over the course of next season and beyond?

That doesn't really change. There's always things to achieve. I mean, we as a football club know that you have that responsibility here to deliver success and to play football a certain way. That doesn't change. I mean just because we won the double last year didn't mean we went into this year thinking, okay we don't have to be as strong. We would have to be stronger so that the challenge is always there. It doesn't matter, irrespective of what you've achieved so far, ff ever you kind of lose that focus, then you will probably find yourself out of a job because that's the demands that this football club places on the people who represent it. We've got a chance to win a cup final and to make it a special year. Come the start of next year, we will all start on zero again and the opportunities will be there again to try and improve and be stronger for what's ahead. 

Is there an update on Alistair Johnston? Is he able to play this weekend and will he be okay for the Scottish Cup final? 

Yeah, he's good. He's good to go. So, he'll play tomorrow and hopefully get through that. I mean, in terms of the cup final, we'll just see, but yeah, he's good to go. Aaron Mooy is still struggling with his sort of back complaints, so he'll miss out and he is probably doubtful for the cup final. Sead (Haksabanovic) who came off the other night, is actually not as bad as we thought. He'll miss tomorrow, but we think he's got a good chance for the cup final too, which is good for him and sort of good for the group. Anybody else, provided they get through tomorrow, should be fine for the week ahead. 

How proud a moment is this going to be for you on Saturday, lifting another Premiership trophy at Celtic Park in front of your fans? 

Yeah, it always is. All of it is sort of hard-earned. It's on the back of people buying in and believing in something and sacrifices being made and getting through those moments of doubt whenever they occur and pushing on and taking on every challenge. So, because of all those things, I don't think anything is given to you. You have to earn everything. There's a great responsibility at the start of every season of this football club to deliver success. Come that moment tomorrow and we lift the trophy here I'll be extremely proud. Proud of the group, and proud of everyone else who's been involved, from not just people within Lennoxtown but the people of Celtic Park who work for the football club. We represent all of them. For our supporters, we've delivered another trophy and another hopefully memorable year for them and you know that's the reward you're seeking. 

This title win takes you into Champions League group stages. We know you like to get your business done early in the transfer market. How far down the road are you with transfer targets and are you close to confirming anyone? 

No, we're not sort of close to confirming anyone. You know our work started or it has started a sort of a while back. It's an ongoing thing. I think this transfer market will potentially, as I said before, be a tricky one for us. I think it's the first one where potentially they could come for some of our key players, and we're got to be ready for that. We have to insure ourselves against those kinds of things happening. We've identified players we think will make us a better side but also give us the insurance that if we lose a couple then we are still in good shape and over the course of events those things will get announced but the work is always ongoing.

Kyogo was recently awarded the Cinch Premiership Player of the Season amongst other Player of the Season awards. Just how important has he been - as he was obviously one of your first signings at the club to success - you've had at Celtic? 

Look, he's been vital because in every team you work hard to create a sort of structure that gives you the opportunity for success, but you need those guys who are going to deliver. In terms of football, the hardest thing to do is score goals and he's done that. I think he's been outstanding this year. You know your second year as a striker is more difficult than your first because I think it is fair to say last year, he maybe caught people by surprise a little bit. There's no secret that when we play, he's the main focal point and the opposition does everything they can to try and stop him. They research him and look at what he does and within that context, he's still delivered more regularly this year and in the big games. I think for a guy to score two goals in two cup finals is pretty special and he's had an outstanding year. It's great to see him rewarded by the others. 

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John Kennedy has been in the news recently after being linked with the Hearts job. I just wanted to ask you, as someone who came in at the club without taking your own back from staff with you, how important is John Kennedy been to this success in your time at Celtic? 

Yeah, again I think I've said before it's been vital because as you said I sort of came in by myself I wanted to sort of assess the people that were here coming off an unsuccessful year before I arrived it was easy for people just to use that as their only reference point. I took it further back than that and John's been part of this football club for a very long time in various roles and he's enjoyed a hell of a lot of success. He's been part of that. You know he's very experienced and he's really well organised, he works hard. He sets really high standards for his work and for a lot of the time, he's the one that's leading in training and sort of the way we go about things. He's been fantastic for me as I'm sure he's been fantastic for the other coaches and managers he has served with. 

Last season in the Champions League, Celtic came up against Real Madrid who were reigning champions. The groups for next season are starting to take shape as the season ends. Is there any particular tie that would be really interesting for you to take on as Celtic manager or is it just take who you get and see how it goes?

I remember last year I said give us Real Madrid. Well, we got Real Madrid, so I hope everyone was happy. Look, the reality of it is, whoever it's going to be, it's going to be fantastic games, fantastic opposition and great spectacles. Our job is to try and make it a special experience for us as a football club and I've said before, we need to be a Champions League football club and the only way you can do that is to be there every year and every year chip away and try and put yourself in a position where one year everything aligns and you can make some sort of impact in it. It's not going to be easy. Irrespective of who we get, but equally, it is just as exciting. I don't think there's any, anyone you could possibly get in the draw that you wouldn't be excited about facing or playing whether it's at their stadium or here at Celtic Park. 

It's two years ago since you've come in and Celtic finished 25 points off of first place. We were trophyless for the first time in a long time. Since then, you have won four out of five available trophies and now you're going for a a world record domestic eighth treble. It's just been a joy watching your team and it's been great to have you as a manager. So, I'd like to just wish you best of luck for the cup final. 

I appreciate it. It is important to understand that not for me, but for us as a football club what we have achieved over the last three years. As you said, we came off for the season where for this football club to be trophyless is tough to take for everyone involved. We had to turn that around quickly. We couldn't have two years with this club being trophyless. That couldn't happen, and it wasn't certainly going to happen under my watch. I was really proud of everyone's efforts to win the double last year and then come back this year and say that was great but want to be better and we've given ourselves a chance to do that by winning the treble. The supporters have been a big part of that. They've been a big part of the journey.  For me, that's been the most special bit. It's been a collective thing of everyone involved in the club - in and out of the club - all been going in the same direction and hopefully we've got a special sort of seven days coming up.