BECOMING an internet GIF this week as a result of his touchline reaction to the pass that Celtic centre half Cameron Carter-Vickers played out the park against St Mirren on Sunday met with the approval of Ange Postecoglou.

“I saw that,” he said as he looked ahead to his 100th game in charge of the Glasgow giants yesterday. “I was just wondering what he was actually trying to do. But it’s alright. Whatever rocks people’s boat is fine with me. I would like to think I have a sense of humour. 

“People in my inner circle think I’m pretty funny, so I will take it in the right sort of light. If people are tickled by it then it’s okay with me.”

Postecoglou will not, however, be amused if his Celtic team fail to maintain their hot streak of domestic form in the remaining weeks of the 2022/23 season despite their comfortable lead over their city rivals Rangers.

His side are nine points clear at the top of the cinch Premiership table going into their league meeting with Hearts – who they also play in the Scottish Cup quarter-final at Tynecastle on Saturday – at Parkhead this evening.

The defending champions are widely expected to retain the Scottish title they won last term. Stopping the Viaplay Cup winners from completing a fifth treble in seven years will take some doing.

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Still, their manager is wary of complacency creeping in all the same and will be demanding 90 minute performances from his men – something which he has worked on since being appointed back in 2021 - every time they take to the park.

“I think it’s the responsibility I have here,” he said. “I have made it clear that it’s what I want our approach to be, and our football more specifically. 

“The players take their lead off me and if I show any inclination that I am looking too far ahead or looking behind us that gives them the opportunity to do the same. We don’t really talk about anything beyond what’s in front of us and they follow that lead.

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“What we have seen over the last 18 months is that, at our best, we just keep going for it right until the last minute irrespective of what the opposition is doing or the competition we are in. 

“At the moment our fitness levels are really good. We want to finish the season strong and designed it that way. We’ve had some good training and we are finishing games strongly irrespective of how the game has gone. 

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t go out there and blow teams away early on as well. That’s still a part of it. The mentality stays the same whatever.”

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Celtic are averaging three goals in every league game and will be doing well to maintain that scoring form in the 11 matches they have remaining – not least against their third-placed rivals Hearts at home this evening.

Postecoglou, though, sees no reason to stop going on the offensive. “No one has told me otherwise mate,” he said. “We will just keep doing what we are doing. Unless somebody tells you to stop doing something you keep going and see how far it takes you.

“I’ve said a few times – and people tend to focus on late goals when they are consequential – we get a lot of late goals even if the result is beyond doubt anyway. 

“At the weekend, we are 3-1 up and they are down to 10 men and it would have been very easy to just see the game out. But the lads kept going to score goals right until the final minute. That helps us engage when we do need to score.” 

Postecoglou added: “There is a tactical aspect other teams and coaches use where, if they have an advantage or a result, they see games out and do it quite cleverly. There are many different approaches I guess. It just depends on how you set your team up. 

“My approach and our approach with regards to the kind of team we want to be is to make sure the game is played until the final whistle and make sure we are still trying to score goals.”

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Postecoglou, who will be without James Forrest for some time after the winger suffered a muscle strain in training, is aware that playing three high-intensity games in six days is asking a lot of his Celtic players and may tweak his starting line-up tonight to ensure his side is at its very best. 

“I select a team for every game I think will win the game for us,” he said. “There is nothing else that comes into my thinking. It’s not about giving guys game time or changing things up for the sake of it. 

“Every team I select is a team I think is going to win us a game of football or help us perform and I’m not going to change that approach. 

“But I am giving it (changing his team) some thought. I will have a look tomorrow and see how the guys are. We played on Sunday, so it is a short turnaround to Wednesday and another short turnaround to Saturday. 

“Three games in six days is tough and there is no doubt that we won’t go through those three games with the same group of players every time. We will make changes, whether that’s tomorrow or Saturday. There will be changes.”