Everything Ange Postecoglou had to say to Celtic TV as he gave an update on Callum McGregor, Yosuke Ideguchi and transfers while looking ahead to the Hearts game...

How is Callum McGregor?

He's better today. He wasn't in great shape after the game. There was obviously the injury but he had a slight concussion as well so he wasn't in great shape. (I) exchanged messages with him yesterday and he feels a bit better, which is great. Hopefully his recovery doesn't take too long.

We all feared the worst, were you in the same boat?

You always do. Knowing the type of character that Callum is, for him to stay down - although to be fair he didn't go all the way down, you could see he was trying to stay up because he's as brave as they come - and have to come off we knew it was something significant.

How is (Yosuke) Ideguchi?

Not great. I think I said after the game that it didn't look too serious but I didn't really get a good look at him. It was a terrible tackle and one that should've been addressed by the referee on the day. He hasn't come out of it too well and he'll be missing for a little bit. He's still pretty painful. Again, I know the kind of character he is so for him to stay down and have come off I knew it was significant. I was optimistic it wasn't anything too bad but, as everyone saw from the footage, it was a tackle that should never have happened and should've been addressed on the day.

Glad to get a home tie in the next round [against Raith Rovers]?

Yeah, I think it's important. Particularly when you get drawn against clubs from the lower leagues. There are challenges there - the pitch wasn't great in the last round against Alloa. They're the kind of things you want to avoid, not from the performance point of view but just for protecting our players. The fact that it's at home, in front of our supporters and on our pitch, is an advantage to us.

It was a positive for (Giorgos) Giakoumakis to get on the scoresheet after a period on the sidelines...

It was good for him and more importantly good for him to get 90 minutes. He's had a disrupted first half of the year. He's worked awfully hard during this period between games. I gave most of the guys a week off but he stayed at Lennoxtown with a few of the others and put in a lot of work. He got through the 90 minutes and got through it pretty strong. He scored his goal, which was good, so it's a good foundation for him.

 

Liel Abada now has 11 goals and eight assists, he maybe doesn't get credit outside of Celtic but that's an impressive first season... 

I don't think he'll be fazed about whether he gets credit or not. I think the good thing about Liel is that the only feedback he needs or seeks is from us. For me, that's why I keep selecting him. There are areas he still needs to improve but that's what he wants to do. For a winger, he's got a tremendous goal and assist output and we'll continue to encourage and develop (him).

What's the feeling in the camp ahead of the Hearts game?

We're looking forward to it. It's another big game, they'll come thick and fast from now on. That's great, we want to play in these big games. It'll be a great atmosphere - it's a good stadium, good pitch and they're a good side. 

It was a loss there on the opening night, do you learn anything from that game?

This is the fourth time we've played them so, no, I think that first game is an irrelevance for either side. What's more important is we keep looking ahead to the next challenge. For us, that's Wednesday night. We'll keep trying to improve our football and the areas we need to improve in but at the same time we've maintained a really good consistency in performance and results over the last three months too so we want to continue that.

Tom Rogic and Daizen Maeda are on international duty - is this a chance for others such as Matt O'Riley and Reo Hatate to impress?

They don't need to impress. We've brought them in because we think they'll be comfortable and be able to contribute in our setup. Reo has already had that taste and I'm sure Matt will get his over the next couple of games. That's why we've brought them in, we think they can help us. We've got a couple missing through international duty and a couple more injuries so that's why need a squad -those guys and others will get their opportunity. 

The new signings all seem to have an air of humility about them - is that a characteristic you look for?

I've said many times when you're bringing people into this environment - they're not players, they're people. Who they are as a person is important to me and the values they have I'd like as much as possible to be aligned with the values of this club. Humility and empathy are big parts of the values of this club and we try to match up - it works better for both parties. The lads who've come in, not just in this window but the last, are contributing to a strong team culture here which is important. 

Do you anticipate any further (transfer) movement or are you happy with the shape of your squad?

We will stay alert and agile, there still could be some things that happen. We're still looking at loans for a couple of our younger players so I'm sure there'll still be some activity between now and the end - what sort of activity that is, we'll just see how it all develops. From our perspective, our planning has gone to schedule so far and hopefully that continues to the end of the window.