Ange Postecoglou's Celtic Q+A in full: Ruthless standards, vulnerable opposition and Giakoumakis latest

Celtic were clinical today, weren't they?

It's a credit to the players, they were really disciplined and focused. We knew that Dundee United are going through a tough time and were potentially vulnerable if we started the game strongly and played our football. I thought we did that. There was a patch in the first half when we were a bit sloppy with our passing but I rectified that pretty quickly. The key after that was to stay focused and to keep playing our football and not let the scoreline or the circumstances take us away from that. I thought the boys did well to do that.

There was a relentless about today's performance was there not?

It's the team we want to be, it's not just about the football we want to play. It's about the intent and we don't want to be led by the scoreboard or whatever the circumstances of the game are. With respect to whether it's the first or the last minute or whether we're winning or not, we want to play at a certain tempo and intensity. We want to work hard and make sure that everyone is contributing. Today, it would have been very easy to get away from that, it's not just about winning a game of football, it's about us setting our own standards within that.

How did you rate Liel Abada's display as he has had to be patient and bide his time?

Liel Abada did well, he's been outstanding for us. He's only a young man and he's already scored a lot of goals and had assists so he's performing at a really high level. He wants to improve and keep getting better. The good thing is our front guys today got their rewards with goals and assists but they also worked awfully hard off the ball. That's one of the things about our attacking play, they put in really strong shifts and doing the stuff other players maybe don't do. That's why they get the rewards they do.

Kyogo getting another hat-trick that must really please you?

Kyogo's been really good but again, it wasn't just about his goals. He was the one harassing their centre-backs when a couple of our counter-attacks were launched and won the ball back and he's another one who's been outstanding for us since the day he arrived. All of these guys want to get better, to keep improving and they want to keep working hard. As long as they have that mentality, we will keep going well.

READ MORE: Detailed Celtic player ratings as Kyogo Furuhashi and Liel Abada bag hat-tricks in 9-0 Dundee United demolition

It could actually have been more when you analyse it all?

Yes. I thought we were really good in front of goal, some of our goals were trademark and all about being in the right areas and the right kind of positions the players were taking up. There were good decisions being made in front of goal and that was pleasing as it's the most difficult area of the park. Scoring goals, as easy as it looked today, is still the most difficult of tasks in our game. The boys were very focused, in the end they could have chosen the individual route but we were still trying to play our football and still trying to score the kind of goals that we work on.

Celtic created the biggest Premiership win in the modern era - were you aware of that and is it a record margin of victory for you?

I've no idea, it's not something I keep a track of. For me, what is most important is the manner in which we went about it. I am always respectful of this game, you need to stay humble and you can't get too ahead of yourself or this game will drag you back down. I thought right to the end we were respectful. We understood that we had a vulnerable opponent but there was no getting away from being disciplined.

Do you have sympathy for Jack Ross?

I don't think sympathy is the right word as we all know we are in this business and it's a ruthless business. I don't think Jack Ross needs my sympathy. I absolutely have respect and understanding for the position he's in. I've always said with every manager that unless you are in their shoes it's very hard to know what they are dealing with or how they are going about things. No manager goes out there to try and not be successful. Of course, there is a part of you that on the sideline does feel for what the other guy is going through as we are all in the same kind of game. We didn't take advantage of that, we stayed respectful in terms of our approach to the game.

Can you clear up Giorgos Giakoumakis situation?

He wasn't well yesterday and we have a lot of games coming up so we will just need to wait and see. He trained at Lennoxtown today and by all reports, he did well.

Does this give you confidence for what lies ahead?

I don't look at it like that as we have 50 odd difficult games to come. We have one on Wednesday night and that's the only one at the forefront of my mind. Ross County away, as we all know is such a difficult proposition, particularly in midweek and in a cup game. From my perspective, that's where our interest lies. We need to get the job done, play our football and tackle the next task beyond that. We knew these games were coming and we have worked hard with the full squad to make sure we are ready.