It was yet another evening of missed opportunities and chances as Celtic crashed out of European football this season after a 1-1 with Shakhtar Donetsk. However, Ange has made it clear he’s at Celtic for the long haul and wants to oversee the club’s improvement for years to come.
The Scottish champions had failed to qualify for the Champions League after five years and hoped to make an instant impression back in the tournament.
Ange Postecoglou didn’t waver in his football philosophy and set up his team in every game to attack the opposition.
There’s been progress made under Postecoglou in terms of Celtic playing a certain way at this level but with a young squad inexperienced at this level this season was not to be.
Over the five games in the tournament, Celtic have given a relatively decent account of themselves but have just lacked that cutting edge which you desperately need at this level.
Plenty of chances have been created but the story has been failing to take those opportunities.
Many will say that it was the ‘easiest’ group Celtic could have hoped to get but the reality is that in Europe’s elite tournament there is no ‘easy’ teams with RB Leipzig regaining their identity under Marco Rose and Shakhtar being a side who have qualified for the group stages of the Champions League for 11 out of the past 12 seasons.
Ange Postecoglou is well aware of the issues which exist at this level which is why full focus must be turned back to domestic action in order for his side to get another crack at the competition next season.
“We know the areas we have fallen short in this campaign and we know the areas we would obviously need to improve in,” Ange Postecoglou said as quoted by STV News.
“But again, that only comes with experiences and learnings and improvement.
“That’s our task – to take what we’ve learned this year and improve on it come next year. But you know, we’ve got to qualify again.
“I mean you know, we haven’t been in this competition for five years. And if you do that, then it’s very hard to come in and just make an impact.
“Our job and my responsibility is to make sure we’re there every year. If we’re there every year, and we kept chipping away at it, I think, you know, we’ll be able to make more of an impact.”
