Expectant Martin O’Neill is backing the Celtic board to hand Ange Postecoglou a Champions League war chest.
The Hoops hero was blown away by the Aussie manager’s first season in Scotland and was impressed with his remarkable strike rate in the transfer market.
Postecoglou snapped up star turns such as Kyogo, Jota, Liel Abada, Giorgos Giakoumakis, Reo Hatate and Matt O’Riley as part of a huge rebuild at Parkhead last summer.
O’Neill doesn’t believe the squad needs major surgery 12 months on but the club will need to stump up more than £13million to secure loan hits Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers on permanent Celtic deals.
And there are other areas that required beefing up to take on the continent’s big boys.
O’Neill said: “Ange will get the ammunition and he has proven himself.
“He brought in some players that I’m sure some people, especially in Europe, maybe hadn’t heard of. But they did fantastically well for him and it gives him a platform to build from and a bit of power in terms of bringing in others.”
Postecoglou is on a rolling one-year deal but O’Neill said: “Things like contracts take care of themselves.
“I don’t imagine for a minute Ange will be worried about it.
“He doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave the club. The fans have taken to him brilliantly.
“I was at the Motherwell game on the last day of the season and it was a glorious day. It took me back.”
Celtic will go straight into the Champions League group stage after a five-year absence from European football' top table.
