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• Ange Postecoglou speculation not causing Celtic to lose focus – Matt O’Riley

  Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley insists it will not be difficult to remain focused on the Scottish Cup final amid growing speculation over the future of manager Ange Postecoglou.

  Postecoglou has become the odds-on favourite to take over at Tottenham with one report claiming he will meet Spurs chairman Daniel Levy on Monday.

  The Celtic manager batted away questions over his future on Thursday as he bids to avoid distractions ahead of Saturday’s Hampden clash with Inverness and O’Riley claims the players will not be sidetracked.

  “It’s not hard, to be honest,” the 22-year-old said. “There is always so much noise in football. Even with players, with managers, all sorts.

  “There is a lot of stuff in the media all the time but I personally don’t believe most of the things I see, just because I know how football works.

  “I’m sure he is very happy where he is because we are doing very well.

  “It’s just part of football. Media-wise, there is always something going on and I’m sure there will always be the odd surprise that gets thrown in, someone leaves that you don’t expect, someone joins that comes out of nowhere. You just have to be ready for whatever comes.”

  Postecoglou has been linked with numerous Premier League jobs throughout the season and Celtic have shown the focus to stay on course for a treble.

  “It comes from, first of all, the hierarchy, the manager and staff setting the foundation of what can we do today to improve and taking it day by day,” O’Riley said.

  “If you think too much about the future or stuff that has happened before, that’s when problems start to occur because you are probably in your head a bit too much.

  “As long as we are focused on the day-to-day basics of trying to improve one another then I don’t think it should be a problem.”

  However, the former MK Dons midfielder understands why many Celtic fans are anxious about the future amid the growing speculation over Postecoglou.

  “He has provided so much success to the club, and hopefully that continues, and naturally fans are attached to someone who brings so much success,” he said.

  “The same goes for the players in the group right now, everyone had good seasons for the most part, so naturally there is going to be interest in players, but hopefully we can keep as many together and push on even more next season.”

• Every trophy is special – Alastair Johnston sees no let-up at Celtic

  Alistair Johnston discovered that every triumph was special at Celtic when seeing the joy on serial winner Callum McGregor’s face as the captain lifted the first two trophies of the season.

  Johnston is one match away from completing a clean sweep of major honours in Scotland five months after joining Celtic from Montreal.

  McGregor is going for his 20th winners’ medal on Saturday when Celtic face Inverness in the Scottish Cup final and Johnston expects it would mean just as much for his skipper to again meet the demands and expectations of fans.

  The 24-year-old said: “I know the extraordinary has become ordinary a little bit at this club with how many trophies they have lifted over the past decade. But still, for guys like myself, this would be my third-ever trophy in my entire career.

  “And I know Cal is probably on 40 or whatever it is but even for him, when you see how much excitement and joy it brings to him and guys like that – James Forrest, I mean he might be on 50 for all I know – you can really tell how much it means.

  “When you see that from the older guys who have been there and done that, especially as a new guy, you are like ‘okay, yeah, this is really big’. I am really excited and I would love to be a part of it.

  “When you see over the past decade, not only the trophies but the trebles that have been won, you almost take it for granted a little bit that ‘oh, Celtic won another one, it’s not that big of a deal’.

  “But now, being here and truly understanding and seeing the work that goes on behind the scenes and just the amount of effort that each guy puts in, it really rings true to me. It’s like ‘wow, each one of these is special’.

  “Just because some guys have won a lot of them, it doesn’t make that next one any less special.

  “I am just really excited to be in a position where I could potentially be walking out of here after six months with a treble. That is everything and more I could have asked for, but when I came in those were the expectations, that was what was put on me, it’s trophies or nothing.

  “I am just really happy we are delivering for our fans so far but it will be a big match this weekend, it won’t be easy.”

  Johnston’s appetite has been further whetted by seeing clips of previous Hampden success, including the penalty shoot-out that won Celtic the Scottish Cup against Hearts in 2020 to clinch the quadruple treble.

  The Canada international said: “It gave you that hunger as one of the new players: ‘I want to be part of that, I want to leave my mark on this club as well’.

  “As you get closer to these finals, some of those clips come up and it really puts things in perspective. You can just see the joy it brings to the fans and players. That’s something you want to be part of as a footballer.”

  At one stage Johnston feared he would not be part of it after suffering a leg injury in a tackle on Rangers full-back Borna Barisic in the semi-final, but he fought back to fitness to play in the final match of the league season against Aberdeen last weekend.

  “When I made the tackle, I thought it could be an issue,” he said. “Just because when I stood up and realised I couldn’t put any real weight on it.

  “But the scans were better than expected and I have done a lot with the medical team, they have been unbelievable. They have been in every day pretty much with me doing the long hours because I made it really clear I wanted to be back, not only for the cup final, but I wanted to be back to be in contention for selection for the Aberdeen match because I wanted to be out on that pitch.

  “You could probably see the joy it brought me being out there, I was loving life. Even though I got a bit tight, it was just precautionary to get me off.

  “Now all the focus is on the cup final. I feel good enough to be able to go. I don’t think anyone is perfect at this point of the season.

  “They are long years, a lot of matches, a lot of minutes on everyone’s bodies. But it’s a cup final, an opportunity to lift a trophy, and you can get through some pretty serious pain for that.”

• Alistair Johnston: No heads to turn amid Spurs speculation with all eyes on cup

  Celtic defender Alistair Johnston is confident they will not be blown off course by speculation over their manager ahead of the Scottish Cup final.

  Johnston admits hearing talk of Tottenham’s reported interest in Ange Postecoglou is unavoidable, but the manager and skipper Callum McGregor especially will not allow it to become a distraction.

  The right-back, who has been passed fit for Saturday’s Hampden clash with Inverness, said: “Trust me, we all hear the noise. We have got Sky Sports on and it seems like every other story that’s running is that one.

  “But it comes from the top down for us; Cal doesn’t let any noise in and the gaffer definitely doesn’t let any noise in. It’s just been the gaffer as I know him and I don’t think anyone was expecting anything different.

  “This ship is steering straight where it needs to go right to that cup final.

  “We just don’t let that kind of stuff creep into the building in terms of letting guys’ heads turn.

  “That’s super important and I think that goes to show why this club has been so successful, we don’t let that kind of stuff affect players.

  “You can always tell when someone’s head is turned or something is going on, they just play a little bit off, or they don’t truly feel all the way there.

  “But that’s never been the case at all in my time here. Even when guys were leaving, and guys did leave in that January window, everyone was still training as hard as possible up until the day they left.

  “I found that very impressive but, again, that comes from the top down. You are not allowed to have a wandering eye, because if you do you are going to get found out and this squad is so deep that you will be out of the squad as quick as that. That’s what we have here and I think that’s really special.

  “I know there’s a lot of talk but we are not bothered, we are not worrying about that, we are just focused on this cup final.”

  The Canada international has not felt the need for anyone inside Celtic Park to give the players any reassurances over Postecoglou’s future.

  “None of it’s really needed,” he said. “We are all professionals, we understand it’s going to come with the job. When you are super successful, you are going to be linked with other things.

  “We don’t feel that’s something that needs to be brought up because it’s just a distraction.

  “No words need to be spoken about that. It’s simple: head down, work hard, and hope you are going to be in the squad for the cup final and have a chance to lift the trophy.”

  Celtic fans are searching for clues that might mean their popular manager decides to stay in Glasgow despite the lure of the Premier League, and Johnston feels there is a real determination from Postecoglou and his players to improve in the Champions League next season.

  Another title win ensured they will be in the group stage again and they are looking to improve on their two-point tally from last season.

  Johnston said: “I have just gotten here. He was a big reason, just talking to him and seeing how he plays and his goals for the club, not only domestically but in the Champions League as well.

  “Obviously I wasn’t here for the run this year but the guys felt they left a little on the table, the performances were strong but the results maybe weren’t. So I think everybody is excited to have another crack at it.

  “We have a lot of really determined and hungry individuals who want to prove that, just because we are in Scotland, doesn’t mean we can’t compete with those massive European clubs.

  “That’s really important to us and important to the manager as well.

  “That’s something we are all building towards. The gaffer has been signing players with that intention. In my talk with him, it was that we want to be dominant domestically but we also want to take that next step at the international level, and that’s something we are going to be looking for next season especially.”