Celtic 'nowhere near' good enough for Ange Postecoglou following Sydney Cup defeat

Ange Postecoglou says Celtic were “nowhere near” the levels he expects of them in Thursday morning’s defeat to Sydney FC.

The Hoops lost 2-1 in their Sydney Cup opener despite taking a first half lead through Kyogo Furuhashi when the Japanese star deflected in a shot from Alex Bernabei.

And speaking after the game, the manager revealed his disappointment at the performance despite starting mostly with a second-string side that included Yosuke Ideguchi, Oliver Abildgaard and Benjamin Siegrist.

He said: “We were nowhere near the levels we need to be, and Sydney deserved the win.

“It’s a disappointment, we set certain standards and we set expectations of levels and if we fall below that then it is disappointing irrespective of the circumstances.”

When asked if the travelling time and with the game being over the other side played a part in the performance, he insists there were no excuses.

He said: “I’m not a violin player, we just get on with it. They probably are tired but so what? The game was played today, not tomorrow and that’s the way it is.

“We weren’t anywhere near where we want to be tonight. It was a long trip, but I think in any game of football you can use excuses, we’ve chosen not to do that in the past and we won’t do it tonight.”

Celtic were without their World Cup contingent of Aaron Mooy, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Daizen Maeda and Josip Juranovic, as well as injured captain Callum McGregor.

Youngsters Scott Robertson, Rocco Vata and Bosun Lawal were introduced in the second half, but the manager insisted there was no excuse for the team performance.

He said: “There is no hierarchy, every one of them train together every day and whether you play ten in a row or one in a row there is an expectation of performance and if you don’t reach those expectations then you will have to wait for your next opportunity.”