Ange Postecoglou isn’t stressed over incoming transfer at Celtic because as far as he's concerned, they might well have done their business before the window has even opened.
The Hoops boss and CEO Michael Nicholson have wasted no time in strengthening the squad and got busy during the World Cup break. Yuki Kobayashi and Alistair Johnston were added while the focus was on what was happening in Qatar, with Johnston impressing for Canada in the Middle East.
Tomoki Iwata became the latest arrival from Japan on Friday. He links up with Postecoglou once more, having worked under him during a successful spell at Yokohama F Marinos. The Scottish Premiership champions continue to be linked with names such as Cho Gue-Sung, Aissa Laidouni, Kwon Hyeok-kyu, Casper Tengstedt and Ardon Jashari. And while Postecoglou didn’t categorically rule out any more new faces, he hinted he’d be happy enough if none were to appear.
As for outgoings, no offers have been made for any of his stars as yet. Josip Juranovic is a wanted man across Europe while Giorgos Giakoumakis dissatisfaction with the contract and amount of game time could see him move on.
“We’ve had no contact over any of our players and we’re comfortable with the situation we’re in,” Postecoglou said. “If they do come for the players, we’ll assess each situation individually and see what the benefits are for us, the player and the club.
“The key thing for me is that we don’t have to be too stressed about what could potentially be incoming because we’ve kind of already done our business.”
Of more pressing concern is Monday’s clash with Rangers at Ibrox. Postecoglou is preparing to face a third different Gers boss since taking over at Parkhead. When asked if he thinks their rivals have changed much since Michael Beale replaced Gio van Bronckhorst, he told Sky Sports: “Yeah, I think so. They’ve changed slightly in terms of their shape.
“Obviously Michael hasn’t had a chance to change personnel too much. He’s using the same kind of players. But when you get a new manager, there’s a new kind of energy within the building and you can see that in the first three or four games he’s been in charge.
“They’ve changed manager but we’ve evolved as a team as well, even since the first time we played them this year. We’re focused on the present and irrespective, it's a derby and people aren’t going to be worried about what happened in the last fixture. They're going to be totally focused on what happens in this one.”
Football mourned the death of Brazil legend Pele this week. After visiting Australia more than once, the former Santos striker left an impression on Postecoglou, and the Celtic boss is in no doubt over who wins the GOAT debate.
“He did come to Australia quite a few times,” he said. “He had a pretty strong association with Australia. I never got to meet the great man but he's one of those figures in football who is hard to contemplate in the present day.
“We marvel at the likes of Messi winning a World Cup at 35. Winning a a World Cup at 17 though, that’s something we can’t really conceptualise right now.
“He won three World Cups in such a unique career. He's the kind of player now we’d be saying has to come to Europe to prove himself. He was such a patriotic person with a unique career. In my opinion, he stands alone as the greatest footballer ever.”
As 2022 becomes 2023, Postecoglou was asked if he had any plans to bring in the New Year: “I’m just trying to learn how to say Hogmanay mate! If I can do that, I’ll be right."
READ NEXT:
