Ange Postecoglou joked he was a “lucky man” to have Aaron Mooy and privileged that Celtic have a captain like Callum McGregor.
The Hoops boss watched as his fellow Australian inspired the Premiership leaders to a 2-0 victory at Dundee United, providing an assist for Jota’s opener and then sealing the points with a penalty. Postecoglou knew what he was getting from Mooy, having coached him before for the national team and hasn’t been surprised he has come good with five goals in seven games.
The Celtic manager has been accused of being lucky in recent weeks by Rangers boss Michael Beale, who put the spending power of the his Parkhead counterpart in focus. Postecoglou jokingly agreed with the Londoner stating that Mooy was another that just fell into his lap last summer. The Celtic boss said: “He (Mooy) has been great since the break. I am the least surprised about that.
"It’s one of these things in football that it literally landed at my doorstep. I knew what I was getting. Maybe you can use that term: I’m a lucky man.”
It was also a game where captain Callum McGregor made his 400th Celtic appearance. Postecoglou paid a glowing tribute to him and reckons it was important to mark it with a win. He also praised McGregor for helping to set the standard.
He admitted: “He was brilliant. I just said to the guys in the room and a couple of the other media guys that we are all pretty privileged to share a dressing room with him. The greatest compliment I can pay him is that he plays every game as if it’s his first. He plays every game as if he’s got everything to prove even though he’s done it all.
“He trains every day like he is the new kid in the building. He is an outstanding individual and a credit to himself and his family and because of the way he is I know there is so much more to come. It was great that the lads could get the victory today for the service he has given the club already.”
It was also a landmark game for Postecoglou as he watched his Celtic side claim their 50th league win. He modestly insisted: “It’s a credit to the lads and everyone involved, the staff.
"We have been really consistent. Our football has been really good and compelling the whole time and I think we will continue to get stronger and that’s my main focus. If you look at our squad now, apart from Tony (Ralston) who has a bit of injury but he will be back soon.
"It’s not just that we have a healthy squad but we have a really strong squad, guys who are ready to play and to contribute. For this home stretch we want to go hard and finish stronger than we started and that should be our goal.”
Postecoglou praised his team for showing patience at Tannadice. They dominated in the first half but it took into the second half to get the breakthrough. He proudly said: “I just think (my players) obviously understand what we are trying to achieve and how we are trying to achieve it.
“There is no reason to be affected by the state of play in terms of the scoreboard or whatever minute it is in the game, we just stick to our principles. As I said, even though we hadn’t scored we got in behind them quite a few times and it was just a matter of a little bit of quality. We scored a fantastic first goal and the quality was there and we kicked on after that.”
Postecoglou also confirmed he is waiting to hear if Giorgos Giakoumakis is going to finalise his £4 million move to Atlanta United. He admitted: “It’s still sort of in the balance.
“There are only two days to go and Michael Nicholson’s not taking my calls any more so I’m not really sure what’s going on in the background. I assume everything will be resolved in the next couple of days one way or another. As it stands right now nothing is definite in terms of his next move.”
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