Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has spoken affectionately about joining Celtic two years ago. The move, which was questioned by large sections of the media and mocked by opponents, saw Postecoglou impose a dominant brand of football as Celtic won five out of six trophies.
Speaking to Four Four Two, Postecoglou opened up on the unique connection with the supporters as he cherished the support they showed him.
“Going into Celtic wasn’t easy – knowing their history and knowing Rangers had just won the league. Celtic didn’t win anything that year, not even a cup. You know you’re going to have to turn things around quickly but I never felt pressure from the people at the club.
“They really wanted to get back to playing the football the fans wanted and have success but they knew it was going to take time as the team needed regenerating.
“On the other hand, I didn’t want the club to go through another year without winning something. We had a slow-ish start, we lost three of our first six games then we were almost perfect after that.
“It was just brilliant after a really tough season, you could tell supporters had their club back to where they wanted it to be. It was a great group of lads and over the two years there, I thought we played superb football. Again, it was the manner in which we did it that made the biggest impact.”
There was a brilliant rapport between Ange and the Celtic supporters, especially due to the fine football that he brought. Not only that, but the former Australian National Team manager was down to earth and he got what Celtic was all about, as well as the significance that the club had on its support.
Postecoglou arrived at Celtic in the summer of 2021. The Australian emerged as the front runner after Eddie Howe got cold feet. It was a master stroke by Celtic whether by design or circumstance. The 58-year-old is now doing his credentials as being an elite coach no harm with Spurs.
Spurs are currently top of the Premier League with Ange winning Manager of the Month for both August and September. Hopefully, he can continue to make waves down there and bring success to the North London club.
There was a really excellent moment at Hampden after beating Inverness where the fans burst into song serenading their leader. There was a recognition for all Ange had achieved and that he had earned his move into the biggest league in the world. Thereafter, Ange was stood taking it in as ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ was belted out by the fans, taking it in as he knew he would be his last moment in front of those fans.
Believe it or not, I was never a fan of Ange. I wasn’t happy at his appointment, his single style of play or his remarks to the media.
I never doubted for a second that he was using us, lying to us, and doing what most people do these days. He is no different than most others when it comes to that.
In your twisted mind, did we not use him then? We paid him money to win us trophies. End of. He did that, he moved on .. so did we. What do you expect from the guy? Especially when Peter Lawell swans back into the club. He did the job he was paid for and moved onto a new job. He was not a Celtic fan, we can expect no loyalty more than what he gave us. Do we have to get Celtic men in like Neil Lennon who will overstay their welcome? We all know what a Celtic fan like BR did last time. It’s a business. Look how we treated a legend like Jock Stein at the end of his tenure. No loyalty in football. Grow up, bhoy!
We both took a gamble with each other ange knowing failure at Celtic would be a disaster for his career and Celtic knowing failure would allow the rangers automatic champions league and getting closer to us financially and it paid off. We have to accept managers coming to us won’t stay too long as second here is a disaster probably one of thr main reasons Gerrard left them so quickly after stopping the 10.
Ange left us great memories and brought some outstanding talent to our team after the stale wantaways we had under lenny.
Good luck to him at spurs but luckily down there 4th is seen as success