Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou would have forgiven both Callum McGregor and Daizen Maeda had they made themselves unavailable for selection in Wednesday night’s derby. However, the 56-year old was left delighted that they both wanted to play their part.
Going into the game, there was some doubt surrounding whether the two players would play their part after the injury sustained by McGregor and Maeda only just returning from international duty.
Speaking to the Daily Record, Postecoglou opened up on the sort of environment he is looking to create at Parkhead and was left delighted that both players made themselves available for selection after a short conversation.
“What we know is that success doesn’t come easy.
“You have to make sacrifices; you have to put yourself out there at times when you’re not 100 percent because that’s the nature of sport.
“I would have accepted it if [Callum McGregor and Daizen Maeda] weren’t part of Wednesday night because of their situations, but it was a really short conversation.
“They just said ‘no, we really want to be involved’, so it’s a credit to both of them. That’s the environment we really try to encourage here every day because sometimes, even in training, you come in, and you’re not buzzing; you’re not feeling 100 percent.
“But you can’t train the way we do unless you give everything, so the players suck it up, they get out there, and they go for it.
“They get encouraged by their teammates, and that’s the environment we want to see.”
The attitude of the two players to make themselves available, despite outside reasoning, was absolutely first class and gave a real boost to both the fans and their teammates involved.
By the sounds of it didn’t take much convincing at all, and McGregor & Maeda were ready to go right away, which is a real credit to their character.
As Postecoglou mentions, this is the sort of attitude you want players within your squad to have, and the 56-year old appears to be building something really special at Parkhead.
Long may it continue, with the two players hopefully playing their part once again at Fir Park tomorrow afternoon.
