Ange Postecoglou wanted his players to spend their Sunday night celebrating their League Cup success because moments such as winning trophies deserve to be marked, but for Postecoglou as reported in The Herald his own post-match celebrations were tempered by the experience of perhaps overdoing things somewhat in his time as a player.
“It was pretty tame, mate. Just a glass of scotch. I love nights like that. I often tell the players that in my first year in senior football, when I was a young and kind of immature player myself, we won the championship.
“I don’t remember much from that night and I am forever regretful of it because you want to remember it, you want to remember what it does for everyone and you want to see how everyone feels about it. It was a night of reflection for me, just sort of taking it all in with my wife.”
The dominant Scottish League Cup win over theRangers was the Celtic manager’s third domestic trophy success, and with a nine-point advantage to protect in the Scottish premiership and a Quarter final of the Scottish Cup at Tynecastle on the horizon, thoughts of a treble this time around are on the minds of every Celtic supporter.
However, Postecoglou hasn’t forgotten being lauded for his success was preceded by much questioning of his coaching credentials by the mainstream sports media when he arrived in Scotland.
“I came in with my eyes open. Look, most of you (the media) were after me. If I didn’t win anything in my first year, I had no chance of survival. The club have been fantastic with me from day one. The support I have had behind the scenes from the people who matter at this football club has been outstanding. I think they have seen something in me to believe in me.
“But that wasn’t enough for me. I really felt that I had to deliver if I was going to stay at this football club for any length of time and deliver in a meaningful way. I was determined to do that. I wasn’t going to shy away from it or bide time or ask for patience. I really felt that.
“Some of it is due to the fact I am nearly 58, mate. So the days are numbering down in terms of how many years I have got left in the game. So I am not going to waste it for myself let alone this football club.”
The Celtic boss has tiresomely been linked with every managerial vacancy that has arisen in the English Premier League in recent weeks. With some of that wishful thinking on the part of certain media personalities, who have even offered Postecoglou a lift to any destination he chooses as long as it’s not Celtic Park, there have also been concerns whether the level of competition in Scotland is enough to satisfy the Celtic boss. However, that is something Postecoglou has certainly refuted, claiming there is nothing ‘monotonous’ or ‘tedious’ about managing a club the size of Celtic.
“I love all of it, mate. There is nothing that is sort of monotonous or tedious for me, I love all of it. I love every day of it, I enjoy every day of it, I think every day is an opportunity to just do something special.
“The ultimate reward is just having some sort of success. Not for what it does for me personally. I think about our supporters and how they feel. They will remember the day forever. It is a game where their football club has won a trophy. The fact that I have contributed to that is priceless for me or any person I guess. It is why we do what we do. I don’t get sick of it. I love every minute of it.”
One thing Postecoglou admits does grate on him is the negativity of the reporting and questioning within the Scottish media, stating the media has a ‘real fixation’ with stories of ‘revenge’ and ‘vindictiveness’.
And although he doesn’t feel that is exclusive to Scotland, it is clearly not something that drives the Celtic manager, insisting being the best he can be – and demanding the same of his players – ensures the motivation for continued improvement lies from within and negates the need for external factors to drive he and his players on to further success.
“There is a real fixation on you having to hate and you having to want revenge and you having to be vindictive,” he said. “I get it. I don’t think it’s unique to this city. But it just doesn’t get my juices going.
“I get so much more excited by beating teams I think are really good and are managed by managers I respect who are on the top of their game. That is what gets me going. I don’t need words to fire me up or to hate the opposition or the opposition manager to get motivated. It is not what drives me.
“I have been pretty clear about what is going to motivate this group of players – it is about rising to the challenge of being the best football team you can be on a weekly basis.
“If you need these extra things to get motivated that is where you fall into the trap. You are going to have off weeks. What happens when somebody doesn’t get you motivated because they haven’t said anything nasty about you?
“It is just not the way I am wired. That is part of the landscape here. But, for me, I get really motivated by trying to be the best. If I am up against an opponent who I think is good then I am up for that contest.”
Ange Postecoglou is clearly a single minded individual, but he never comes across as a win at all costs type of manager. And it is clear he prefers to avoid such a tactic when dealing with off-field matters as much as he does on the field. Celtic are very much playing the ‘Celtic way’ on the pitch, however the humility he and his players exhibit off the field falls also into the Celtic ethos.
Ange Postecoglou has made it clear in recent days that we “ will be surprised how long I am here”. For Celtic fans that will be a welcome and reassuring message and for others perhaps the opposite will be true.
Yet as Ange Postecoglou goes about creating a legacy at Celtic, that could also extend to Scottish Football as a whole if others refuse to be so blinkered as to ignore the advice and direction they have on their doorstep.
There is a lot to be learned from Ange Postecoglou, and whilst Celtic are benefitting the most from that, Scottish football could share that legacy by taking on board the Celtic manager’s approach.
Niall J
I love that man.