Poor results in friendlies Down Under aside, Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou remains on the radar of a number of clubs, and countries, potentially in the market for a new bench boss. That is, if media reports in Scotland are to be believed.
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou On Club Radars
The Full Scottish by Brian P. Dunleavy
First, he was allegedly on the shortlist of the hierarchy at Brighton & Hove Albion when the club were looking to replace Graham Potter (now at Chelsea, of course), only for Roberto De Zerbi to get the post. Then, the Aussie’s name was mentioned as a possible successor to Frank Lampard at Everton, with the Liverpool club ironically in Sydney with Celtic as part of the so-called “Super Cup.”
Leicester City (where Brendan Rodgers’ side has been struggling) and Wolves have also been in the mix—again reportedly. Most recently, Postecoglou has been touted as the next national team manager for Japan, should current boss, Hajime Moriyasu, leave the seat following the World Cup. Of course, prior to his arrival in Glasgow, Postecoglou was the manager at Yokahama Marinos.
Still, as much as we applaud the work the Aussie has done at Parkhead to date, all of this (other than perhaps the job with Japan) seems a bit premature—even by his own estimation.
“I love what I’m doing. I’m just so passionate about this club and achieving success,” he told the press this week, per the Sun. “But I haven’t yet achieved what I want to achieve.”
At least part of his unfinished business is in Europe, where Celtic finished at the bottom of its group in the Champions’ League. Postecoglou said earlier this week that the club can, in fact, succeed at that level—and should they do so it would help the rest of Scottish football.
“If we want to raise the level of Scottish football, then our best clubs need to get bigger and stronger and hopefully that drags others up—instead of just keeping the big clubs down and hope that it makes it better,” he said, per the Daily Record. “The way that is going to happen in Scotland is for a club like ours to have their sights set on being a top Champions League club. If that means we dominate local competition, then it challenges everyone else to be better. That has to be our goal.”
A goal that seems ambitious, given Celtic’s inability to beat mid-table A-League side Sydney FC on Thursday.
Follow Brian on Twitter