Celtic were held to a 1-1 draw against Danish club Midtjylland in the first leg of their Champions League qualifying match at Parkhead. Prior to the match, Postecoglou was concerned with the fitness levels of his players. He was also pensive about the new signings finding their feet so soon. They were off to a good start with one of the new signings, Liel Abada opening the scoring in the 37th minute. Unfortunately, defender Nir Bitton was sent off before the halftime whistle for a second yellow card.
“I can’t ask any more of the players. We will be better prepared, no doubt, in eight days’ time,” Celtic coach Ange Postecoglou said after their Champions League tie. “In fact, I do not think we will ever be as badly prepared as we were tonight going into such an important game and that’s on me. It is, I am the manager of the football club. I’m the one that takes that responsibility of providing support for the players and staff. If things aren’t happening, it’s on me to make them happen.”
“I have not done a great job so far, to be honest, because, with the disruptions we have had, we have not been able to bring the players in,” he added. “My role is to try and reinforce this squad and to try to prepare this squad for what is ahead, and to their credit, the players didn’t look for excuses tonight. They put in a solid shift and I am just disappointed they didn’t get the rewards for what I thought was an outstanding performance.”
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