Kevin Muscat has come out and condemned the “pure laziness” of the Scottish media in their attitudes towards Celtic boss, Ange Postecoglou. The Aussie replaced Ange as manager of Yokohama F. Marinos in June and has been closely monitoring events here in Scotland since Ange took over the Parkhead hot seat.
Muscat, once of the Rangers club before this one, said: “When Ange did arrive I said on some other platform that it was a predictable response as reported by Daily Record. Some really high-profile people didn’t cover themselves in glory with their lack of knowledge, lack of research and pure laziness, really. His success is great to see and I think it’s good for the competition as well.
“Celtic seem to have steadied under Ange and he’s brought something totally different to what they’ve seen in recent years. Rangers (the new version) have changed managers also, with Steven Gerrard going to Aston Villa and Giovanni van Bronckhorst coming in. I think that freshness from both sides of the city and the football that’s being played… it’s good for Scottish football.
The former Australia international also commended the team Ange bequeathed him at Marinos and insisted that his comrade is a trailblazer for his unique playing style. He said: “There are so many styles creeping into the game and obviously Ange was a catalyst four years ago. He flipped the conservative approach on its head and was really aggressive in the way he went about things. Since then, clubs and coaches have moved away from the 4-4-2 formation and the conservative approach.”
Muscat added: “Japan has a wonderful, strong competition with three professional leagues. It’s somewhere I’ve really settled into, and I’m enjoying it. Over the years it’s been a conservative competition and their style of play has been conservative, however in the last four or five years, that has started to change. They’re a lot more adventurous now, we know how technical the individuals are and how technical the teams are.”
It is no surprise to any of us that the Scottish media reacted in such a way as they did, dismissing the man’s achievements in the game and insinuating he was out of his depth. How wrong were they? With the Hoops still in the hunt for the return of their league crown and a first trophy of the season already bagged, the smell fear emanating from every orifice of Scottish footballing society is palpable.
Paul Gillespie
I believe it was the same when wim Jansen arrived in 97 who also had managed in Japan before his arrival to Celtic park