Celtic latest: Ange’s ‘battle-hardened’ Bhoys can help with Jota and Carter-Vickers sticking around

Ange Postecoglou believes Celtic’s startling Old Firm derby win last midweek can help the club land Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers on permanent deals.

The Hoops moved to the top of the table with their impressive 3-0 win over Rangers at Celtic Park, and have gone odds-on with the bookmakers to wrest the Premiership title from their rivals.

With the league winners guaranteed an automatic Champions League group place next season, and with it a multi-million-pound windfall, the chance of playing in Europe’s premier club competition would look significant in terms of the two loan players extending their stays in deals of around £6m each.

Yet while acknowledging the point, the Celtic manager was keen to stress both that the final decision will rest with the pair, and that he had already done his job in terms of pitching the long-term project he has for the group.

“I know Cam and Jota love representing this football club, and what it is all about,” said Postecoglou.

“They’re contributing right now, and that is all I need to see. They’re enjoying it, and experiences like last Wednesday will help our chances of keeping them.

“But we all live in a romanticised version of life. It usually comes down to what drives the individual.

“These things are great, but then finances come into it, and other factors can influence the decision.

“I’m not going to try and convince anyone to stay.

“If you don’t understand how special it is to be a part of this place, nothing I’m going to say will change that.

“Those discussions will be taking place over the course of the next period.

“Michael (Nicholson, the club’s chief executive) is at the forefront of that with the players themselves. It will take care of itself.

“As I say, Cam and Jota love it here but, listen, it could be others.

“While people are talking about new signings, it is also true we might lose a couple because we’re going so well.

“That’s part of football. I won’t lose much sleep over it. While they’re under my charge, I’ll just get them to be the best they can be.”

One of the most arresting facts about the derby success was that nine of Celtic’s starting line-up had arrived under Postecoglou’s charge.

Only skipper Callum McGregor and his fellow Scotland internationalist, Greg Taylor, had been on the premises when the manager was appointed.

“It does help to have boys like Callum and Greg around, but ultimately they can’t protect the others,” he said, as he spoke ahead of today’s game against Motherwell.

“They get exposed in that kind of environment, and it’s up to them to rise to the challenge.

“I said to them before the game that this hasn’t been a smooth ride for us to this point. We’ve had to take knocks and overcome different challenges.

“The word I use with this team is battle-hardened, because nothing has come easy for us.

“Going into a big game like Wednesday, they were ready. Whatever we said to them about the atmosphere and intensity, they were prepared for it.

“The preparation doesn’t come 45 minutes before the game. It’s from training and playing every week in that manner.

“It helps that Callum and Greg have experienced it before, but our role is to prepare every player for these big games.”

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The bravery of both men was to the fore against Rangers, with McGregor playing the derby in a mask to protect a facial injury, and Taylor shrugging off a knee knock to see out the 90 minutes.

“You never want to come off,” said Taylor. “We were making our last two substitutions, and I felt OK to continue.

“It got a wee bit worse in the last couple of minutes, but thankfully I am feeling OK now.

“It was a nice night to remember. The most enjoyable moment was the final whistle because then you can savour the moment.

“The first-half performance would have been close to the best football we have produced this season, but I wouldn’t say anything surprised me.

“I know how strong the squad is, and how strong the belief within the squad is.

“We have a set philosophy and a way we want to play football. Wednesday was no different.

“We tried to execute that as well as we could, and by doing that, we managed to get the three points.

“As happy as we were, we know there are 14 games still to go and a lot of football still to be played.

“Now we have Motherwell to face, so we have to be sure to go there and put in another performance.

“If we do that, then the points will hopefully look after themselves.”