Ange Postecoglou Celtic Q+A in full: 'First-class' reactions and another Jota masterclass

Did you think at 1-1 that it was not going to go your way and it was not your day even though you were so dominant?

I think we showed last year there is the football aspect but also the resilience and determination to overcome any challenge. We haven’t lost that, that’s still there within this group. I think when you believe in something as strongly as these guys do, and they believe in each other, whatever impediment there is in front of us, they feel confident they can overcome. The game of football is funny. You can dominate a game and should be comfortably ahead, and then they get a corner and score, which is part of their strengths. You are looking for a reaction, and the reaction was first class.

It was a similar game to the match in December, wasn't it?

I thought our football was a lot better. I thought we really played well today. People can look at the result and think it was close but in really difficult conditions, I thought we controlled the game from start to finish. We minimised their threats - I said they are a big, strong team but they hardly got in our box apart from set-pieces - and even though they had a lot of bodies behind the ball we still found our openings, we were still really clever in the way we got in behind them. There was an edge to the game because of the late goal. I felt we were really in control of the game.

What did you make of Moritz Jenz's debut?

Moritz Jenz was great. He has been training well, he has fitted in really well. I keep saying these guys…you see them on weekends but I see them every day. The level of training is really high at the moment. Everyone is putting their best foot forward, which makes training pretty competitive, so if I have to make a change to the lineup for whatever reason I’m really confident about the guys coming in. Obviously they have to take their opportunity but they are ready for that opportunity. It was a different game for him today. There were a lot of contests he needed to win in the air, but he also had a lot of the ball and I really thought he showed some real good composure considering he has only been with us for a couple of weeks. It’s a great way for him to start his Celtic career.

READ MORE: Detailed Celtic player ratings as Moritz Jenz heads winner in Dingwall debut late show

You have tremendous depth in the squad now with Jenz and Abada both coming on it is such a strong squad, isn't it?

That’s what we are trying to build. That was our whole strategy behind our business in the transfer market, to make us a stranger unit. We got through last year, we gt through on fumes at times because we were relying on a core group of players. We got through last year on fumes at times because we were relying on a core group of players. At the moment we’re ok because we’re playing a game a week, but when we get to the end of the month the big games will be coming every three days and we need more than eleven players. I thought the guys who came on today were outstanding, all of them made contributions, and if we need to make a change in the team I feel really comfortable that anyone who is going to take that position is ready for it.”

Are the Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt partnership under threat now because no one is assured of place?

I don’t know, I get why people think that way, but I don’t think there is anyone here who is assured of anything. I’m not assured of anything. I’m sure when the first loss comes along everyone will be questioning me. We’re all out there every day trying to prove to ourselves that’s the kind of environment we want to have. There’s no one out there, even Cal, who can think they are guaranteed something. You are only guaranteed something if you perform at the levels you can. That’s how you get the best out of people. Bringing Moritz in helps Carl, it helps Cam, it helps Welshy be the best they can be because every day at training they are competing against each other. They are raising each other's level. If I just had two centre-backs and the level around them was low, then how are they going to improve? You can’t improve just in games, you have to improve every day. So, for all these guys, it’s about every day trying to be the best they can be and being ready for any opportunity that comes their way.

Was Stephen Welsh ill?

Yeah, Stephen Welsh fell ill after training yesterday. He was a bit under the weather for a couple of days, but he trained, but then he just didn’t feel one hundred per cent. This early in the season there’s no point in us taking risks with players. We’ve got a good, healthy squad with players ready to come in. He should be alright.

Did Daizen Maeda have a knock?

He got a bit of a knock, but he’s ok, it’s nothing serious. He’ll be fine. I just felt that second half I knew we’d get a lot of the ball, we had the wind behind us, and Liel in those situations he gets on the end of things and can beat his men. I thought he could make an impact and he did.

Jota, another three assists, you can’t keep him out of the headlines?

He’s earning them in the right way, he’s working hard. He has joined this club permanently and he wants to be the best he can be and show people there’s another level to him. I see him every day in training, and he’s doing the extras and making sure he prepares himself well for every game. On a difficult day on a tight pitch with the wind, with those kinds of players, it takes the real special ones to be able to still find and create space for themselves. He was put under a lot of pressure any time he had the ball at his feet, he’d take people on and they committed quite a few fouls on him and others because of that. It was another strong performance from him.