Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton has insisted that things are going in the right direction for the club under Ange Postecoglou, with the improvements being clear to see, but he must be back in January.
Writing in his column for the Daily Record, like most fans, Sutton is delighted with the progress his side has made in just a few months, with it not being long ago that Sutton didn’t even expect the Hoops to qualify for the group stages of the Europa League.
Now we find ourselves taking it to a top Bundesliga side and being unfortunate not to take anything away from the game on Thursday night.
With the improvements we have made, Sutton believes that Ange has shown exactly why he should be trusted and backed going into the January transfer window.
“There is no escaping the fact they have been shown up at the back at this level.
“Four goals to Bayer Leverkusen in Glasgow and another three in Germany. Four conceded in Spain against Real Betis, they also needed three goals to guarantee the three points in Ferencvaros.
“You just don’t get away with that when you mix it in the Europa League against teams from the top leagues on the continent.
“Yet, for all that, I do think there are some massive signs of progress under Postecoglou.
“I wouldn’t have fancied being Juranovic if he’d missed that spot-kick but I think the manager will be fairly happy with where his side are right now.
“They went toe-to-toe with Bayer and almost got out of Germany with a remarkable result.
“There is no doubt for me they have improved. I’ve got to be honest.
“I didn’t think Celtic would even get to the Europa League group stage. When they went out of the Champions League qualifiers, I couldn’t see a way past AZ Alkmaar at that stage of the rebuild.
“I didn’t think there would be much of a sniff once they got to the group stage either.
“To get within 10 minutes of taking it down to the last game to get to the knockout stages was more than could have been expected.
“Dropping down to the Europa Conference League is hardly a disaster. It’s more like job done when you consider the state the side was in during the summer and the sheer amount of players who came in.
It’s also pretty clear there is still work to do.“The Celtic board should have seen enough to know the club is in safe hands with Postecoglou.
“He’s got the fans on board and he’s building a team that plays some devastating attacking football.
“Even a Bundesliga outfit like Leverkusen couldn’t contain Celtic’s front three and they are capable of scoring some sensational goals.
“Jota’s effort the other night was top class, from the ball from Joe Hart, the touch from James Forrest and the pass from Kyogo.
“The finish was sublime. It was no surprise coming from a player who would be a steal if Celtic can secure him for just £6.5m.
“That’s the kind of thing Celtic are capable of doing and when it works, it all works really well.
“The problems come when things have to change. The substitutions in Germany totally altered the game – for the worse.
“It’s no slight on the players who came on, but they were not as good as the ones they replaced. The replacements just didn’t work.
He continued: “That is why January is so important to Celtic. It’s massive.
“Postecoglou has done enough to earn the trust of the club – and he simply must be allowed to strengthen.
“Celtic are going in the right direction under Postecoglou but it will be the transfer window that will determine how fast he gets to the desired destination.”
Before making it to the January transfer window, we have a massive run of fixtures that could ultimately, help define our season as a whole.
So, the focus for Ange and the squad will remain on that for now.
However, it is crucial we look towards the January window, given the importance, it could have on the title race going into the second half of the season, where we could continue to see improvements in the squad under Postecoglou.
