Celtic v Hearts: Match Preview – 100 Games of Ange

The Age of Ange will enter its 100^th match on Wednesday evening as Celtic play host to Hearts in the first of a quick-fire double header against the Edinburgh side with a Scottish Cup quarter-final to follow at Tynecastle on Saturday.

It’s difficult to put into words that do justice to the impact that Ange Postecoglou has made at Celtic Park since taking over the hotseat from Neil Lennon in June 2021.

At the time of his arrival, Celtic had endured their worst season in a decade.  The 10-in-a-row bid had ended in disaster, incidents like the ill judged trip to Dubai had left the club a laughing stock, and a mass clear out of want away stars was already underway.

A HOMAGE TO ANGE

Instead of walking into Paradise, Ange must have wondered if he’d taken a wrong turn along the way and strolled into Hell instead.  Lining up with a centre-back pairing of Stephen Welsh and Nir Bitton in his first competitive match against Norwegians Midtjylland would have done little to dispel those thoughts.  Less still when the latter was dismissed just before halftime with 17-year old Dane Murray being thrust into the fray of a Champions League qualifier.

The man whom Murray replaced that night was a certain Liel Abada who, like Ange, was making his Celtic Park debut against Midtjylland.

But Ange being Ange faced the task of rebuilding Celtic head-on and with complete belief in his methods.  “Trust the Process” and “We Never Stop” are not just gimmicks or slogans without substance, they are what makes Ange’s Celtic winners.

After a tough start – 3 defeats in 3 away league games – Celtic would end the 2021/22 season on a 32 game unbeaten league run.  The title would return to Paradise, along with the League Cup, as Ange brought smiles back to Celtic faces.

Trust the process.

Over the course of the season late winners, a hallmark of Celtic’s history, saw the Hoops claim three points on more than one occasion when victory looked to be just out of our grasp.  Ralston at Ross County in the 97^th minute; Abada at home to Dundee United after the 90^th minute had passed.

We Never Stop.

From day one, Ange has led the club in a professional and sometimes ruthless manner.  His humility, passion for the club, and desire to succeed shine through in everything he does, and the respect the fans have for him is reciprocated.

At home to Hearts, Ange will take charge of his 100^th game as Celtic manager.  100 games in 20 months.  Here’s to several hundred more in the years to come.

TEAM NEWS

At Tuesday’s pre-match press conference Ange announced that, with the exception of James Forrest, the squad had a clean bill of health with no further injury concerns.

However, with Wednesday’s game coming so soon after the weekend’s match at Paisley, and sandwiched in between Saturday’s ‘return’ game with Hearts, Ange has hinted that there may be changes to the side for one or both of the upcoming games.

After his stunning substitute performance at St Mirren Park, Liel Abada will be one of the players knocking at the manager’s door should he decide to change things up for the midweek game.

The Israeli scored one, assisted one, and provided a secondary assist for another goal after making his entrance at half time on Sunday for the below par Daizen Maeda.  In doing so, the forward took his tally to 12 goals and 6 assists for the season.

Others such as Matt O’Riley, Sead Hakšabanović, and Oh who all made impressive contributions off the bench on Sunday may also look to the next couple of games as an opportunity to get some minutes from the start under their belts in preparation for the title run it.

Whoever Ange starts, you can rest assured they will give it their all to bring home another important three points on a milestone occasion.