Ange Postecoglou insists he’ll NEVER reach the status of the great Celtic managers like Jock Stein and Martin O’Neill.
But the Hoops gaffer is still determined to leave his mark on Parkhead history. Postecoglou admitted he was flattered to hear Celtic superfan Sir Rod Stewart mention him in the same breath as legendary bosses at the club on the back of Sunday’s Viaplay Cup success. The Aussie has now scooped up three of the last four trophies up for grabs since his arrival in Scotland in the summer of 2021 and is already in the Hoops fans' hearts.
Sir Rod is a fully paid up member of the Big Ange fan club but Postecoglou is happy with his place in the Parkhead manager pecking order. He said: “That is very kind of Rod and I know he is a passionate Celtic man but I will give you the brief here – I will never reach the levels of Jock Stein or Martin. Brendan Rodgers and Neil Lennon, these guys, they have had unbelievable success at this football club.
“It is almost impossible to replicate. I won a trophy at the weekend and after it I was interviewed by Gordon Strachan so I know my place and I am more than happy with that.
“My role here is to contribute and hopefully continue to bring success to this club. Hopefully when I am gone I have left my own mark and I will be more than comfortable with that.”
Postecoglou is already on the path to greatness at Celtic Park but he admitted his big thrill this week was delivering more success to supporters. But the focus is now on maintaining the push for more silverware and he’s already on to Premiership duty at St Mirren.
When asked if the Hampden party was joy or relief, he said: “It is a combination of both. There is always an element of relief for any manager because you carry a weight of responsibility not just for the players and the staff but also the people who represent the football club – the supporters.
“There is relief as well as enjoyment and it is important you try to enjoy your success because what you do know is that when the celebrating stops you have to go again and there has to be a reason to go again. I enjoyed the day.
"I enjoyed the night after and I enjoyed the way it made our supporters feel and how the players enjoyed the success. Beyond that you move on.
“It has been a fairly normal week. We had Monday off and then we were straight back into it on Tuesday as we prepared for the weekend.”
Postecoglou is gearing up for another crucial spell with Saints and Hearts up in the league in the next four days and the Jambos again at Tynecastle in the Scottish Cup next weekend.
There is a potential problem down the line with the Asia Cup announced for January and February 2024 – which could rob him of eight stars with Australia and Japan involved.
But Postecoglou said: “It is too far away. No-one is more aware than me when the Asian Cup is on because I’ve won one but it is in our planning and when we get closer to it we’ll do what we have to.”
Postecoglou will consider shaking up his side for Saints but he knows his side stumbled the last time in Paisley – when the Buddies inflicted Celtic’s only domestic defeat this season earlier in the season. The Parkhead gaffer has rotated his squad but admitted he felt for club stalwart James Forrest sitting out the cup final.
He said: “The reason James has had so much success, and he understands that so much better than me, is because this is a football club where you are constantly fighting for your position and constantly fighting for honours so he accepts that.
“I am sure that James could have gone somewhere else this year and played but the reason he stayed with us is because he wants to continue to contribute to the success and he understands that. This is a club that demands constant competition.
“I keep saying that you can’t have it both ways; you can’t have guaranteed football and also being at a club that is constantly challenging for success because it doesn’t work that way. I don’t need to explain that because he understands that better than me.”
