Daizen Maeda offered Celtic red card immunity from Ange as boss steps into firing line for Hibs defeat

Ange Postecoglou insists Celtic’s bad run of post-title form is firmly on him. And the Parkhead boss confirmed a Scottish Cup Final crock fear over injured winger Sead Haksabanovic after he limped off at Easter Road,.

Postecoglou was left stunned at a shock ending which saw his side crash to Hibs. Celtic were 2-1 up and heading for victory when Daizen Maeda’s red card turned the tide. Scott Bain also lost a dreadful goal to Hibs’ ace Elie Youan during the late home blitz which has left the champions without a win in three since sealing the flag.

Postecoglou says that down to him altering the side regularly and making big changes. He said: “I thought up until the sending-off, we were in a good position and looking to finish strong. The red card comes and it is sort of chaos from then on. Cancelled reds, penalties, mistakes, it just seemed the game got really out of control in that last 20 or 25 minutes. That sort of hurt us in terms of the outcome.

“Everyone is making assessments on what is happening right now. That’s fine. Most of that is on me, to be honest. I am the one making five or six line-up changes every week. That’s hurting the side and there’s no doubt about that, but I’m doing it for a reason and that has affected our level of performance. That’s the decisions I’ve made. In the last three weeks, they haven’t been to be benefit of the team. We still have a big game to play in the cup final and then we will come back stronger again.”

Bain’s nightmare ruined a decent comeback after 18 months out of the team and Postecoglou extended his alterations issue as he said: “It is disappointing for him and that is the life of a goalkeeper as he was having a good game up until that point. It is just one of those moments