This Scottish Premiership season will be over in just under a month from now and inevitably Celtic thoughts will turn to what’s ahead over the summer as Ange Postecoglou begins the second stage of his Celtic transformation. Most of the supporters’ focus will inevitably be on player acquisition and departures while the scale of the former being determined by the judgement calls that the Celtic manager is going to make particularly on the fringe players in his squad.
What seems certain is that we are unlikely to witness a similar kind of frenzied transfer window as last summer with perhaps the most immediate targets will be to conclude converting the season long loan deals for both Cameron Carter-Vickers and Jota.
But it was the planned improvements and additions to his backroom staff that Ange Postecoglou was asked about in the final question of his Media Conference ahead of tomorrow’s match in Dingwall. Here’s what happened…
Celtic Fan Media: Anton McElhone has had a positive impact on the sports science department what are your thoughts on the progress on that front and are there any other additional staff members in the pipeline who could come in during the summer and help take Celtic to the next steps?
Ange Postecoglou: “We are always looking to improve areas and my focus when I got the position was that the team needed a rebuilding job. I had to make sure that we had a side that was competitive this year.
“I said after a trophyless season last year we had to have success this year and that is just how I felt. My total focus was on getting a team and an environment that would give us a chance for success anyway.
Ange Postecoglou Unveiling – Celtic Park Celtic new manager Ange Postecoglou poses for a photo at Celtic Park Glasgow. Picture date: Friday June 25, 2021. Photo: Jeff Holmes
“Now I feel that there are areas that we can continually look to improve the club and sports science was one area where we bulked up and player welfare was another where we brought people in to help players on and off the field. All these things are there to help make us a better club and in the off-season, there will be others now that I have the time where we can make adjustments and improvements.
“There are still areas where we can better and the club has been very supportive. I tend to be fairly meticulous and in some respects, people feel that I should move a bit quicker but I just like to get things right and I haven’t rushed these decisions and I haven’t brought people in for the sake of it.
Celtic chief executive Michael Nicholson (centre) Photo: Jeff Holmes
“I will bring people in that I believe can add to a strong group of players and staff and we will do that over the next couple of months Michael and the board have been very supportive on that and they are leaving it to me and whatever I have asked for so far I have received and I think that will continue.”
