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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Craig Swan

Ange Postecoglou urges Celtic to grab Europa Conference League glory as star falls in line with 'not afraid' message

Ange Postecoglou has urged Celtic to grasp their chance to have a run at Europa Conference League glory.

And striker Giorgos Giakoumakis is adamant the team will fear no-one if they hit their top form.

Celtic face Bodo/Glimt on Thursday night with a place in the last 16 awaiting the winners of the two-legged crunch.

AS Roma, Marseille and Leicester are amongst the big-name clubs still involved in the competition.

But boss Postecoglou insists his troops must embrace the opportunity of going deep in the tournament and having a crack at winning it.

He explained: “What’s the point of rolling up on Thursday night if you don’t think you can win something?

(SNS Group)

“You play in these things to try and have success.

“Why miss the opportunity if the opportunity is before you?

“If we don’t succeed, then we dust ourselves off and go again next year.

“But you don’t enter something to just participate and potentially miss an opportunity to create something.

“For me, it’s about constantly exposing our players to this level and playing our football.

“You saw it during our (Europa League) group stage. We ended up winning three games in a tough group.

“It’s not like we struggled, even though we didn’t get through.

“We saw improvement there. We are in a different competition now, but you look at the calibre of teams left and there are still some fantastic clubs represented.

Bodo/Glimt manager Kjetil Knutsen (R) (SNS Group)

“We have a big challenge facing Bodo. It’s European competition, there are fantastic teams in there and you know what European nights can be like at Celtic Park.

“It’s a chance to test ourselves again, measure ourselves and I’m excited about it.”

Giakoumakis also believes and said: “I don’t know if we can win (the tournament) or not. Sometimes you need some luck also.

“But, if we are the team we have to be, we are not afraid of anyone.”

Postecoglou is building a strong squad and would hope to be able to sustain challenges at home and abroad if Celtic can have a spring run in the Conference.

But he added: “I hope I get the opportunity to find out. That’s all I can say. Let’s go down that road if we are in all three competitions and let’s find out.”

The Celtic manager is also convinced the hunger and drive of his ambitious troops will help them to shimmer on the European stage.

New signing Matt O’Riley has targeted a World Cup berth in Qatar with Denmark and Postecoglou has others in the same boat.

He said: “That’s part of the scouting process. When I spoke to Matt, that was part of the process of me understanding him as a person.

“I could see how ambitious he was. He wants to be the best footballer he can be and get to the very top.

“Whether it is club side or international team, he wants to experience it all.

“What I am hoping is to have a dressing room full of that and that’s the players we have brought in.

“They are hugely ambitious, hugely driven and want to be the best.

“If you have a dressing room full of that, it helps push yourself.

“There’s a number. Josip (Juranovic) is going to a World Cup. I’m sure Cal (McGregor) and the Scottish lads want it, too. Tommy Rogic, Kyogo and the Japanese boys.

“From that point of view, that’s the kind of dressing I want with players who are driven and ambitious and the best they can be.”

Postecoglou, meanwhile, has confirmed Juranovic is back available for tonight’s tie having been absent since the win over Motherwell 11 days ago, but the ineligible Yosuke Ideguchi and Mikey Johnston, who has an ankle injury, miss out.

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