Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Scotland boss applauded the Hoops manager for sticking to his guns but questioned if his players were up to standard.
As quoted by Sky Sports prior to Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Ferencvaros, Postecoglou confessed he would not change his attacking style of play despite a series of poor results in Europe.
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— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) October 19, 2021
The Australian boss insisted sticking to his approach is “part of the learning process and the evolution of the team”.
In their opening two Europa League group games, Celtic lost 4-0 and 4-3 to Bayer Leverkusen and Real Betis respectively.
However, goals from Kyogo Furuhashi and David Turnbull sealed victory over Ferencvaros.
McLeish lauded Postecoglou for his attacking football but suggested the squad would struggle against better sides with his current squad.
Asked about Postecoglou’s reluctance to change his style, McLeish told Football Insider’s Russell Edge: “He needs to manage. Each to their own. We all had, maybe, favourite ways of playing.
“Sir Alex Ferguson was always fast tempo, fast passing, assertive passing. That was his mantra right from day one to the glory days at Manchester United. I know he always loved tempo.
“You can see that Ange Postecoglou wants to play a certain tempo and certainly very, very attack-minded. I just feel they’re not at the level of being able to deal with the European teams.
“If you’re honest, I know they lost 4-3 to Betis but it could have been more. They took a bit of a doing at Celtic Park against Leverkusen.
“Listen, they might be much better now, if Ange keeps drumming it into them. If they keep playing and they can find a way of not losing bad defensive goals but keep the attacking style, it’s a potent style of play.
“Personally, in my day, it depended on the players I had. I would not be stubborn. I wouldn’t cut my nose off to spite my face for the sake of it.
“Ange is really resolved to doing this. Credit to him for doing that. That’s the makings of a strong personality.”
This article was originally posted here