ANGE POSTECOGLOU is adamant that motivation won’t be a problem for his Celtic side this season, claiming that his players are motivated for every encounter, whether it be a cup tie to Ross County midweek or a Derby match against Rangers.

If a footballer is to improve, they need to be motivated for every match and give it their all on the pitch. Under Ange Postecoglou, the players seem to be doing this. An added motivation for the players is the upcoming Champions League fixtures; the squad are desperate to feature in Europe’s top flight.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference for the Glasgow Derby, Postecoglou opened up on the mentality of the team, saying; [Sky Sports]

“I don’t see it as any more difficult [in terms of motivation]. You understand the impact that it has, particularly on our supporters in these games. All of that is pretty much irrelevant if you don’t play well. I have always laid stock in one thing and that is you go out there, play your football and try to be the best you can be.

“All this other stuff tends to take care of itself. If you need extra motivation tomorrow than you did on Wednesday or you might need for Tuesday night then you’re never going to be successful.

“Our motivation has to be the same every time we’re out there and that is to be the best we can be. We understand the significance of it, to our fans and to the league, but that shouldn’t mean we’re more motivated tomorrow than we were on Wednesday night.

“I haven’t seen any of that from the players, they treat all the games with equal respect and desire to be successful.”

The Celtic players can’t get too relaxed. They know that with the squad Ange has built, there is a player on the bench that can come onto the pitch and impact the game with their quality. The players need to keep pushing themselves every day, and turn up for every game if they want to keep their place in the squad.