Ange Postecoglou admits Hearts clash is too early to be ‘statement game’ as Celtic boss issues update on potential transfer dealings

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has dismissed any notion of the Scottish Premiership title race becoming a two-way battle if both Old Firm clubs record midweek victories.

Both Old Firm clubs are in action with Giovanni van Bronckhorst taking his Rangers side to play Hibernian at Easter Road tonight, while the Hoops face Hearts 24 hours later.

Postecoglou’s side currently trail their Glasgow rivals by four points at the Premiership summit but the Australian is keeping his feet firmly grounded.

He said: “I think my players are just looking forward to a game at Celtic Park, playing our football and winning.

“Statement games are at the back end of the season. Let’s just keep our pistols in our holsters for a little while.

“We are just going to play each game as we have so far. I have said a few times, you can get distracted by so many shiny objects everywhere.

“What we want to do is make sure that when we play our football on a game day we are ready for that challenge, because if you start thinking that somehow a result tomorrow gets you something shiny and glittery you lose focus on what is important.

“Our form has been good because we have been concentrating on and respecting every opponent and that is what we will do tomorrow as well.”

Hearts will know a victory at Parkhead, a venue they have failed to win at since April 2012, would see them leapfrog the Hoops in the table but Postecoglou is eager to continue his side’s domestic progress.

He added: “They’re a good team with some speed up front. They’ve got an outstanding goalkeeper who has been in great form this year and results will show they’ve been one of the more consistent sides in the league.

“They have their strengths but we’ll prepare the same way as we do any other opponent. We want to be the team who goes out there and dominates the game, creates plenty of opportunities and limits opportunities for the opposition.

“Every game has got it’s own challenges. From our perspective, it’s about continuing our good form over the last ten or so games in the league, particularly at home where we’ve built some momentum.”

Thursday night’s encounter is the first of NINE fixtures this month and the Hoops boss revealed how he is approaching another busy schedule of games.

Postecoglou stated: “Obviously, once we reached a cup final we knew there would be another game jammed in there.

“We do our planning and set things out but after that it is really about being dynamic, being alert and treating every day as it comes because you can sort of pre-plan things in terms of squad rotation and rest and so forth, but you get injuries, loss of form and things you need to change.

“So what we are trying to do is and what I have always done is take it on a day-by-day basis - who looks good, who feels right for the next game, tackle that task and put a line through it and move on to the next one.

“We’re well structured and organised in terms of our training and our loads but the games are the ones you have to approach on an individual basis and just assess how people are going.

“You’ve got to find other ways to coach. With the video analysis feedback to players and individual feedback the coaching staff will handle that on a day-by-day basis and the team stuff I will handle.

“We’re trying to get our messages across because the reality is time on the turf has to be limited because recovery is the key thing for the players, particularly when we have the majority of the starting eleven backing up week-on-week.”

Ahead of the January window opening next month, Postecoglou has promised the Parkhead faithful that the club are working hard to complete their transfer business as quickly as possible.

Celtic are close to finalising a deal for defender Reo Hatate and Postecoglou confirmed: “We’ve been working towards the January window for a while and all our planning is about making sure that we get the deals done as early as possible.

“As you guys are all aware we’re living in a weird world right now. Things change day to day. I can sit here and say ‘yeah we’ll have everything done’ and then the world decides a different fate for us all.

“We’ve just got to be agile and dynamic. We’re doing our work and I’m really confident in the progress we’re making.

“The idea is we get deals done early but at the same time, there are always obstacles that can’t be foreseen. We’ve just got to make sure we do things on our part as efficiently as possible and be ready to strike early if the opportunity is there for us.”