Former Celtic midfielder Alan Thompson has revealed his belief that Ange Postecoglou has what it takes to become one of the great ones. The Englishman played for Celtic between 2001-06, becoming a favourite himself during his stay at Celtic Park. A player who is certainly still remembered with fondness to this day.
Now he reckons Ange has the credentials to cement himself amongst the Celtic firmament of legendary managers. As reported by Football Scotland, Thompson said: “If Ange maintains the record he’s built for the next three or four seasons then he’ll rank amongst the best managers in Celtic’s modern history, that’s for sure. Inevitably though, you get judged as a Celtic or (the)Rangers manager on the trophies that you’ve won.”
Recognising the predicament the Hoops are currently in with trying to make a dent in European competition, Thompson thinks it is a good thing that they can now concentrate on winning the cinch Premiership title again to steal that automatic qualification spot for next year.
He added: “I think it’s essential for Celtic to win the league title this season so that they avoid the Champions League qualifiers and I think being out of Europe could be a blessing in disguise for them to focus on getting into the Champions League automatically next season.”
Thompson himself was part of an historic team that went on to have major success both domestcially and on the European continent. The ultimate pinnacle was undoubtedly reaching the UEFA Cup Final of 2003, the first in 33 years. We unfortunately never won that night against Porto, but it reaffirmed our place in the elite club’s in Europe once again.
15 April 2001: Henrik Larsson celebrates with team mate Alan Thompson after giving Celtic a two-nil lead during the Semi Final of the Tennents Scottish Cup between Celtic and Dundee United at Hampden: Photo Stu Forster/ALLSPORT
That will be the challenge for Ange now if he can achieve more domestic success this year; get into the Champions League again and see if we can progress. We made a good go of it this year but we were perhaps guilty of working harder instead of smarter. The team is still quite wet behind the ears and progress will come in due course.
Thommo may be right, we may look back in years to come and talk of Ange Postecoglou in the same breath as Martin O’Neill and Jock Stein. But first, we must ensure we claim that title once more and get our hands on the riches of Champions League group stage football next year.
Paul Gillespie
