Ange Postecoglou adamant Celtic principles all about success and insists he plays 'a certain way for a reason'

Ange Postecoglou knows what’s coming but he’s not for turning.

The Aussie is aware there will be a clamour for caution; a plea for pragmatism the next time the Champions League music mingles with the disco lights at Celtic Park. Four games in and a single point gained, from their next opponents Shakhtar Donetsk, is not the kind of return Postecoglou and his followers wanted or anticipated.

He knows if you miss chance after chance at this elite level, it will come back to bite you. Celtic ’s style of play is not the issue here. It’s their inability to put the ball in the back of the net that is. Losing to Real Madrid is one thing but the back-to-back defeats from RB Leipzig - the second of which had an air of inevitability from the moment the second half started on Tuesday night - have been bruising. But anyone who thinks this manager is going to hide in a corner licking his wounds before sending his men out to play cat and mouse with the Ukrainians in a fortnight, in the hope of nicking a 1-0 win that will keep Europa League dreams alive, hasn’t been paying attention.

No, by the time 60,000 Celtic fans are ready to roar again, it’s going to be another full throttle, pedal to the metal approach. And if the opposition hasn’t buckled by the break? Then Celtic will simply have to do better than they have up until now in the second half of Champions League ties, where they have conceded seven of the nine goals that have flown past Joe Hart.

That comes down to an inability to sustain the tempo he demands from his players beyond the hour mark and when he makes his substitutions to bring on fresh legs, it can take time for the new men to adapt to the rhythm of the match. And at elite European level, top players won’t allow