Chris Sutton reckons nobody could have masterminded a Celtic rebuild like Ange Postecoglou as he revisited Eddie Howe's near miss at Parkhead.
The former Bournemouth boss was on the look-out for his next job when he was edging closer to stepping into the hot seat at Celtic Park, but after drawn out talks over a move to the Scottish Premiership the deal collapsed and Howe opted to wait for his next step. The 45-year-old would eventually agree to take the top job at Newcastle United - and has led the cash-rich club to the Champions League spots in the Premier League.
After the knock-back from Howe, Celtic turned to Postecoglou - and the Australian has led the club to massive success while rebuilding the first-team squad. He led them to the Premiership title and League Cup during his debut campaign, and will look to go one better this term with the Hoops on course for a domestic Treble.
Sutton reckons no boss from south of the border would have arrived and recover from the "disaster" that Postecoglou inherited. Speaking to Australian outlet Keep Up : “I don’t think any manager, I include anybody from down south, could have come in and turned the club around like Ange Postecoglou.
"People forget the situation in which he took over and how late he came in. It made it doubly, if not, more difficult for Ange. All the talk at Celtic was, the league had been a disaster, lost the league by 25 points.
"The deal was done with Eddie Howe, that was all the talk. Eddie Howe was going to have it and everyone thought it was going to happen. Then it didn’t happen and you could imagine the uproar which is natural.
“Then Ange Postecoglou’s name pops up and everyone is googling Ange Postecoglou. I knew of him from the Australian national team but in truth, I hadn’t really delved into his whole history.
"Then you start delving into it and you’re like ‘blimey, this guy is a high achiever’. Did well in Australia and then took a struggling team in Yokohama and turned them around.”
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