Celtic coach John Kennedy revealed the message which Ange Postecoglou sends to the Hoops fringe players.
The league leaders undeniably have the strongest squad in the league and although it can be difficult to keep every player onside, Kennedy has admitted that the manager is very clear in his message.
Since the introduction of the five-sub rule it has been to the benefit of the club due to the size and quality of their squad.
It allows Postecoglou’s side to cope with a huge volume of games and also gives players much needed game time.
The performance levels of the side have been immense under the former Australian bosses watch and a big part of that has been down to the strength of the squad who have all had a chance to perform.
On a game by game basis, the bench is full of quality players who always tend to feature as the Celtic boss likes to maximise his options.
Kennedy has admitted that being able to use an extra two substitutes over the usual three has been a big part of Celtic’s success.
“I think it does. It allows us to maintain the intensity in the games and the energy levels for ourselves,” said Kennedy speaking exclusively to [Celtic TV].
“We play a very high-intensity game which takes a lot out of the boys, especially when there are three games a week.
“We have to have a squad that is ready to go and execute that. The players know on a daily basis that the way we train and prepare for games, so even if they are not playing at the weekend, they have to keep training at levels that when they do come and they do have an impact.
“We’ve seen that many times this season in terms of players coming in and making a difference in the game, whether that be seeing a game out or really pushing on and getting the extra goals that we need. That’s a big part of the game and is something the manager emphasises continuously, whether you are on the pitch for 90 minutes, 30 minutes or 15 minutes, you have to make an impact. That’s your job.
“Again, you have to be selfless in that. A lot of players get upset when they don’t play, that’s totally natural, but it’s important that they work that in the right way that it’s beneficial to the team and they don’t put themselves in front of that.”
The competition for places in the side just now is very healthy and it’s always great to get some further insight into the dressing room.
Postecoglou was questioned earlier in the season about keeping players ‘happy’ which he emphasised was not his job as they were playing at one of the top football clubs in the world.
