After a slow start to his tenure as Celtic boss, Ange Postecoglou has finally got his side on the right track with three impressive wins on the bounce, scoring 13 goals in the process.
Celtic’s most recent success was a comfortable 3-0 victory against Czechia outfit FK Baumit Jablonec in the second leg of their Europa League third-round qualifier on Thursday, winning 7-2 on aggregate.
A brace from David Turnbull and a strike from James Forrest helped the Hoops sail into the final playoff round where they will face Dutch side AZ Alkmaar later this month.
Postecoglou hailed his side’s performance and heaped praised on the “incredible” atmosphere created by a packed Parkhead crowd, stating that it was even more of a thrill than he had anticipated.
The Hoops now turn their attention to their League Cup clash against a Hearts side who beat them 2-1 in their opening Premiership match in July.
Celtic were eliminated in disappointing fashion at this stage of the League Cup last season, when they suffered a shock 2-0 defeat at home to Ross County, which sparked hundreds of fans to protest outside of the stadium.
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A repeat of that result would not go down well with supporters once again, though the Hoops seem to be in a slightly stronger position now than they were this time last year, and they should be confident in progressing to the quarter-finals.
Hearts maintained their 100% record across all competitions when they beat St Mirren 2-1 away from home in the Premiership last weekend.
Goals either side of half time from Andy Halliday and Liam Boyce helped the Jam Tarts secure all three points in Paisley, extending their winning run to six matches
