Ange Postecoglou's Celtic press conference in full as World Cup fears earn 'I'm more optimistic than you mate' verdict

Confident Ange Postecoglou has shut down talk that Celtic's season could be derailed by a mid-season break for the World Cup.

The Scottish Premiership campaign will be put on hold for around a month from the middle of November onwards with the tournament taking centre stage in Qatar, and the Australian will be hoping to hold on to top spot going into the break before Celtic jet off for the Sydney Super Cup. The Hoops' bid to defend the Scottish title will then resume against Aberdeen on December 17 during a packed winter fixture card.

Speaking ahead of the Premier Sports Cup showdown with Motherwell, Postecoglou insisted that the lack of competitive games will prove to be an issue for his squad. However, he confessed the World Cup meant that every club across the globe would be entering the "unknown" in a month for the finals in the Middle East.

When asked if the season was effectively two different seasons and the club "could be good in the first half, and then it could go to pieces", Postecoglou said: "I hope not mate, I'm a bit more optimistic than that. It's obviously a bit different but here in Scotland we usually have a natural break around that time of the year.

"The only difference is that some of our players will be at a World Cup. There are a lot of unknowns, not just for us, but for every club around the world, in terms of what impact a mid-season World Cup has but I tend to focus on the stuff that's known and what we can do to control the environment and make sure we're ready.

"That's what we'll do. I'm a bit more optimistic than you mate, that it won't all fall apart in the second half of the year."

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