Ange Postecoglou's Celtic Q+A in full: Giakoumakis out, Kyogo 'will not last the 90' but chance is there to create history

Looking at this game how excited do you get by a Scottish Cup semi-final and a derby match when you consider how things are going just now?

It is where you want to be whenever the big games come around. You want to be amongst it. The semi-final of the Scottish Cup at Hampden is going to be a super occasion. There is going to be a great atmosphere and the whole group is looking forward to it.

You have had a week to prepare is this the strongest you have been and are you peaking at the right time now?

I have said for a few weeks now that we are definitely the healthiest we have been all year in terms of the squad and people training. I think that is reflected in the intensity and tempo of our training which is helping us perform well in games. We are in a good place but the challenges don't stop and we have to make sure we perform again on Sunday.

How are Giorgos Giakoumakis and David Turnbull and is everybody else available?

The prognosis wasn't anything too serious with Guiakoumakis which is pleasing but it will probably keep him out this weekend we are pretty confident that he will be available for next weekend. Dave Turnbull trained - he's fine. James Forrest trained and he's fine as well.

What do you expect from the atmosphere and do you think that will change the dynamic as you have beaten them twice but will it be different at a neutral venue?

It is a cup semi-final, irrespective of what the crowd is like, it is going to be a great atmosphere. It was in the semi-final and final of the League Cup and I expect the same and all the players will be excited about walking out there and performing in that kind of environment. It is a big game - we know that. There is a cup final place at stake and it should be a cracker.

This is your first year in Scottish football and you are playing well domestically and Rangers are doing well in Europe - how do you think outsiders are looking at the Scottish game?

It's hard for me to have that measure. I think the quality of the games in the second half of the season has been of a high standard. I am sure people will take notice of those kinds of things. Both derbies were good quality games and there is always tension when this time of the year comes and there is a lot at stake and you are guaranteed to have full stadiums. Anyone who has been up here for games will know how unique and electric the atmosphere is. How people measure it I am not really sure and it is going to be a fantastic final month of the season. Hopefully, it gets the right kind of attention and people will appreciate what they see.

The defence is starting to come together and you must be pleased with Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt - will you be getting the contract for Cameron signed soon?

I think we have improved as a team in all aspects of our game which is only natural. When we started the season at least three of the back four hadn't even signed for us and it was always going to take a little bit of time. We all know that particularly with the defensive side of the game and understanding that having cohesion is really important. I think as a team our game has evolved in all aspects - attacking, defending - and I think that's down to the collective effort of all the players rather than individuals finding some form. I think they have all been in good form all season and it takes a little bit of time to get that understanding. Cam (Carter-Vickers) and Carl (Starfelt) have been outstanding for us as have Stephen Welsh and Tony Ralston. All of the defenders and Joe Hart will tell you that our defending starts at the front. I think there is an appreciation from all of those guys for the collective effort it takes to make sure that we continue to be a strong team defensively and allow our attacking players the platform to play.

I heard you talking on Celtic TV earlier this week and those players have to embrace the chance to create history - how do you approach such a big game? Do you crank it up towards the end of the week?

My experience with these things is that there is no point in trying to disguise that it is something that isn't and you can go in and say to them that it is just another game and treat it as such. I think you lose the unique aspect of the fact that you want your players to embrace the big occasion and play the big games. You don't want them to be shying away from it. I don't think I need to tell them that. I think they'll realise that themselves in the build-up and when they walk out there. My role in that is to make sure that the focus is on the important things and what has gotten us to this point. I also need to highlight the fact that the key to these big games is to be ready to take the opportunity. You don't want to let many of these opportunities go by in your career. I'm not one for telling the guys to ignore the hype or the attention particularly at this football club as it really important that the guys embrace it and want to be in the big games. The bigger the games the bigger the opportunity to make a statement.

Is it becoming more and more difficult to pick the team and do you look at past Hampden experiences to help you?

I know people would think it is difficult, it's easier because I have got options. The difficult bit comes when you are going into big games and you are not really sure of the lineup that you are going to put out there. I am pretty confident that whatever I decide to do we will have a strong enough team to do well in that game. That's because I see the training every day and everyone is presenting well and working hard and looking in good form. It's easy for people to say I got my selection right but to be honest, I could go a different way and get it just as right. Coming into every game and particular this part of the season what's important is to keep a close eye on training as that is usually the best indicator for me about guys who are ready to play. At the moment I have got a good, healthy list of players who are all putting their hands up.

Tom Rogic has scored a number of important goals at Hampden in his time at Celtic, will he play a key role on Sunday?

Tom is one of the ones but hopefully, we are getting to a stage where we are less reliant on guys who have already proven themselves in big games. I would like to think over the last six months we have exposed guys to the semi-final, final of the League Cup, a couple of derbies, some European football and some big games. Hopefully, they will all have had that experience and had different performances on those days so are not just reliant on one or two. Experience on these occasions is important and Tom and Cal and a few others have had that. From my perspective what we have been really good at in recent times is making sure we are not relying on one or two individuals and that we are on it collectively and we have multiple threats in terms of ways we can score goals and equally work pretty hard as a defensive unit.

Will this result have any bearing on momentum or the title race?

I'm not a big one to talk about momentum as that suggests you kind of roll up and things happen. What's important is that we know to come to the end of the game on Sunday that there is an opportunity there for us to progress to a final and a chance to win another trophy. That's really where it begins and ends. Once that game is over we have to prep for getting back into the league and irrespective of this result we will be just as focused to make sure we win the next game as well. I think for us it is not about momentum as we are in very good form and have been for quite a while which gives the players belief and confidence but they also understand that is on the back of some pretty solid work and discipline in playing the football we want.

You won the League Cup the last time you were at Hampden can that help your players on Sunday?

It helps us in the sense that we have gone through a couple of experiences at Hampden with this new group of players and the semi-final and final was their first trips there. I am sure it will help. We have some that haven't experienced that yet like Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Matt O'Riley and Yosuke Ideguchi haven't experienced that yet so it will be great for them to get a taste of it as well. With all these things people are kind of looking for potential advantages or disadvantages but I still fall back on the key thing for us is to go out there and play our football and when we have done that this year on a consistent basis it has given us a good chance of success. That has to be our focus on Sunday.

Is Kyogo ready to start and play 90 minutes or 120 if need be?

I don't think Kyogo is ready to play 90 or 120 minutes but he's ready to play. It was great to get him some match minutes against St Johnstone he has had two solid weeks of training and he has done everything with the group. We train pretty hard and he has matched those levels. That means he's ready to play. Can he see out 90 or 120? That's unlikely because he has been out for so long but he's ready to play and that's the most important thing.

Have you been working on scoring an early goal or is that something that comes naturally to the team?

We always try and score. I have never designated a time for us to score. If it happens early great if it doesn't then so be it. In the last derby at Ibrox, we fell behind after a couple of minutes. I think what we try and do is that we begin the game as we intend to finish it and that is at the highest possible tempo. Sometimes you can fall into the trap of easing yourself into games and whilst I think you may have the quality to win those games by starting at the highest possible tempo it gives us maximum time to dominate a game of football and be effective. We always emphasise that the beginning of games is not there to ease ourselves in it is about going as hard as we can from as early as we can and maintaining those levels for the full 90 minutes. If an early goal comes it comes, if not at least we know in that early part we have worked the opposition awfully hard which means that hopefully our fitness levels and our intensity will bear fruit at the end of the game.

Giakoumakis is going to miss the game are you going to have to change it about a bit in the attack?

I don't have to change it as I think it changes naturally. I think with different players there are certain subtleties within their game changes because of the qualities they bring not just in attack. it happens with the midfield set-up and the full-backs depending on who we play and the qualities that the individual player brings change things. That's not at the core of what we do. We have still got to press hard, work hard, try and be aggressive with our approach and dominate the ball as much as we can. We won't change our approach but just having different types of players in there will change some things naturally. We have a group of players who we can bring into the team or who can come in and out of the team without us having to drastically change our approach.

Celtic went to a new level against St Johnstone last week - do you think the team spent on the training ground will have improved them even more and helped you?

There wouldn't be a coach or manager on the planet who does not appreciate time on the pitch with the players particularly when you have a new group of players the more we can emphasise our parts of the game that is definitely helpful. In the first three-quarters of the season, we had midweek games and that limits your ability to work on things. We have tried to make maximum use of this period where we haven't had any midweek games so we can use it well. It doesn't mean that we haven't worked as hard as we are probably working harder than we normally do at training specifically around our game. I also think a big reason as to why we are in such good form is that we have a healthy squad at the minute. January was an important month for us and there is no doubt the four players we brought in have helped us enormously and helped me to rotate players and keep our training intensity really high and keep the guys really competitive in terms of keeping their place in the team and the impact of substitutes. All those kinds of things were because of what we did in January even not rushing back Kyogo and Dave Turnbull or guys who have had injuries. They have been the key factors to us playing our best football right now.

Another massive game on Sunday and Rangers went to extra-time does that give Celtic an advantage because they are fresher?

I think if you fall into the trap of looking for some sort of advantage or weakness that is where the pitfalls are. We expect to play every opponent at their absolute best. We don't think we are going to be out there on Sunday and think that because Rangers had a big game they are going to be less than they can be. We will go out there and prepare for the Rangers to be the best they can be as we have in every game against them or any other opposition to be fair. We prepare ourselves to be the best we can be and if you start looking for little things that can go or work your way then that's not how it goes. Rangers will be pretty buoyed after their European result and they could play their best game of the season against us on Sunday. If we are not ready for that then we are going to pay a price. We are going to be ready for a strong opponent and that means we will be going in there prepared to play our best game of the season.