BEING Ange Postecoglou’s career adviser must have been a relatively straightforward job. The Celtic manager is singularly focused on his role in life as a football coach, and is only too happy to tell you the occupations he has no interest in.
When asked, for instance, how long goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas may be out of action after dislocating a finger in the warm-up before the recent friendly against Bristol City, a withering response came back in his broad Aussie drawl: “I’m not a doctor mate.”
So, when he was asked if he was concerned that an early European exit might impact Celtic’s financial situation, and thus hamper his rebuild plans for his squad, the answer may have been easy to predict.
“I’m not an accountant mate,” he said. “I’m a football manager.”
It doesn’t feel though that Postecoglou is being evasive or dismissive when using this form of retort, but rather that he genuinely couldn’t care less.
“When people start talking to me about finances they miss the essence of what I’m about,” he said.
“I’m not interested. I want to win games, I want to win trophies, I want to bring special nights to here.
“The finances are for other people.”
It is easy to see why fans at Postecoglou’s previous clubs, and seemingly the entire Australian football fraternity, have such disciple-like devotion to the cult of ‘Ange-ball’.
Scottish football can at times - you may have noticed - be something of a negative environment. Postecoglou may rather deflate when confronted by the minutiae of his role, but even at 55, when he talks football he does so with the wide-eyed enthusiasm of a child.
That, along with an encouraging performance against Midtjylland on the whole, may explain why at least some members of a sceptical Celtic support seem to be warming to the Australian. The huge ovation he and his team received from the 9000 fans inside Celtic Park was certainly appreciated.
“It was brilliant,” said Postecoglou. “It was a special night for me because to walk out the tunnel as Celtic manager in a Champions League game, the response was very special.
“I guess that's why I love the game. You talk about finances, that’s the last thing on my mind when you get a response like that from people who love this football club. That's what motivates me.
“They saw enough to encourage them to get right behind this group of players. Age alone, look at the line-up we had [on Tuesday night], we had inexperience and having a crowd behind
them makes an enormous difference.
“I hope they left with a little bit more optimism about where they are heading.”
Postecoglou mentions the inexperience of his team on Tuesday night, but he is keen to stress that there was enough quality within it not to be considered as patchwork.
"I think that is a bit disrespectful to be fair,” he said. “There [were] internationals out there and some young kids who are doing everything for this club.
“I thought we created more chances and limited them to maybe a couple of shots on goal. In general, I thought we played some decent football.
“We had to play a large part of the game with 10 men until their player got sent off, and we had two very young centre-halfs, so there is frustration at the result, but not the performance. The players put in a tremendous shift.
“The guys who are given the responsibility of wearing a pretty heavy shirt in a Champions League tie, they gave everything they possibly could.”
The same group of players will be asked to go the well again next Wednesday as Celtic travel to Herning for the second leg against Midtjylland, but with the away goals rule abolished by UEFA, Postecoglou doesn’t concede that the Danes are now favourites to progress after the score draw in Glasgow.
“It’s half-time in a game and I don’t think anyone has an advantage or a disadvantage,” he said.
“From our perspective, we’ve just got to go over there and perform as we did [on Tuesday night].
“We weren’t well prepared for [Tuesday], we’ve had so many disruptions in pre-season for a number of reasons, and we literally had one training session with this group of players.
“For them to put in the effort they did...there were quite a number who weren’t ready for 90 minutes, but they found something extra.
“There are eight days between [the first leg] and the next fixture, and I think we’ll be better prepared for the next game.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel