One of the hardest parts of the job for Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou right now is to rotate his team.

The Australian has a deep, strong squad at his disposal and has shuffled his pack to good effect during a challenging and busy October. Against Motherwell, he made a further four alterations to his starting XI, with two of them – Liel Abada and Kyogo Furuhashi – rewarding him with goals in a 4-0 Premier Sports Cup quarter-final win.

The question on reporters’ lips in Postecoglou’s post-match press conference was how he breaks the news to the players he has not selected. The Celtic boss was in a humorous mood as he gave the answer.

"I don't tell them, I just avoid them mate,” he quipped. “Easy discussion, I just put the team up and walk away,” before continuing in a more serious tone: “I think they've all embraced that, they understand it. You saw last year what happens when you put the burden on a very few, you get injuries and it affects us. If James [Forrest] had played tonight or Giako [Giorgios Giakoumakis] had played tonight, there's no chance for Saturday, so they understand that. They all appreciate and all understand that if we are going to be successful, playing this kind of football, everyone's got their role to play.

"I think there is a respect within the group. We all know what we are trying to achieve and we all want to do it together. That means that no-one is more important than anyone else.”

Ange Postecoglou reveals how he tells Celtic players they are not in team