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    Ange Postekoglou laments Celtic’s absence from the Old Firm and acknowledges the inevitable.

    Ange Postecoglou admits that Celtic’s acceptance of their fate was the biggest disappointment in their 3-0 loss to Rangers at Ibrox in the last game of the season for the Old Firm.

    The Hoopes entered the game as Premier League champions after beating Hearts 2-0 last week and are undefeated in five Glasgow derbies this season.

    However, goals from Todd Cantwell, John Suttar and Fashion Sakala gave the Blues their first victory in seven meetings between the Glasgow giants.

    Celtic are still on track for a home treble with the Scottish Cup final against champion side Inverness at Hampden Park on 3 June, but Postecoglou spoke about the two away games after the league split as he only analyzed their second defeat championship in a season.

    He said: “In the second half, I felt like we almost resigned ourselves to our fate – you can lose a football game, it will happen – instead of going out and trying to change the course of the game.

    “Yes (that was the biggest disappointment).

    “They are people and they had an outstanding season, the euphoria of the last week and the victory (in the league), it is a little strange to win it, and with the games you need to play away again.

    “You don’t really get to appreciate the moment, but welcome to Celtic. This is an expectation that will not change.

    “It was not a great performance, a disappointing performance, a disappointing result.

    “There were a couple of moments where we really should have scored and at least taken the game out of the game, but we never really stuck.

    “In the second half we never made much of an impact, there was a bit of desperation that we were trying to get in the game and not play our own football.”

    Moments after a huge Cantwell shot through Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart, Celtic striker Oh Hyun-gyu, who had been chosen to replace Kyogo Furuhashi, was framed by Liel Abada.

    However, due to the fact that only Gers goalkeeper Robbie McCrory could beat, he hit the ball from the post, and the home defense was restored.

    Postekoglu said: “This is an important point, absolutely.

    “They were for it, the crowd was for it, and they scored a goal, and if we can hit back right away, it will take a bit of momentum away from them.

    “That goal probably should have been put off by the big man, it hit the post, so it was just around the corner. It’s also a bit of a learning experience for him.

    “When he looks at someone like Kyogo Furuhashi, he also concedes goals but doesn’t let that affect him, he’s still working hard for the team.”

    There were no Celtic fans at the stadium due to “security” concerns, as was the case with Rangers when they visited Glasgow East in April, but Postecoglu did not use this as an excuse.

    He said, “I don’t think the fans could do anything about our performance. It’s not the first time we’ve played here without fans.”

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