Jackie McNamara believes the Champions League is the carrot to keep Ange Postecoglou away from the Premier League’s clutches.
With 13 managers losing their jobs in England’s top-flight this term, Postecoglou has been consistently linked with vacancies down south. Having moulded a dominant Celtic side, one which is on course to clinch a second consecutive Premiership title and could win another treble, the 56-year-old’s work has not gone unnoticed out with Glasgow.
However, Postecoglou has stated his desire to make the Parkhead club consistently competitive on the continent.
His team got a taste of the Champions League earlier this season, and former Celtic captain McNamara feels they showed potential to grow into Europe’s premier competition.
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And he is confident it is a challenge that will make it doubly difficult for potential suitors to convince Postecoglou to depart Glasgow.
“I think Ange will want to be better in Europe,” McNamara said. “He’ll want to go into the Champions League and make an impact and do well on that stage.
“I thought they were excellent in some of the games this year for 60 minutes. When you get chances at that level you need to take them.
“He’s been linked with a lot of jobs but he will be. His stock is very high and people have looked at how he’s turned it around at Celtic.
“There’s been a huge turnaround at the club in terms of players but the style and identity is there. You can only see them getting better and stronger.
“Ange has been mentioned with a lot of jobs and I’m sure the interest has been a lot stronger in some of them than we know about.
“He hasn’t gone and Celtic fans will be hoping that stays the case for a long time because he’s been excellent.”
*The eScottish Football Cup is taking place at Hampden Park over 20th/21st May, with up to 75 clubs from across the country competing for a prize pool of £50,000
