Ange Postecoglou has spent the past year crushing his rivals.
Now, unable to find ways of unsettling Celtic on the pitch, there have been one or two attempts off it at somehow undermining their achievements. Rangers manager Michael Beale opined that Postecoglou was a lucky man due to the spending power at his disposal. Livingston boss David Martindale spoke at the start of this week about the massive gulf in finances which gives Celtic the edge. Martindale is right. Postecoglou does have a pound for every penny he and others have got.
Beale’s also right. He’s right that the Aussie is lucky to work for a club that is so well run and has a sharp business model to get their finances in top order. That provides for a manager who then signs gems to generate profit in sales. And gets into the Champions League to gather even more dough.
But, whether that lucky jibe from Beale was an attempt to belittle Postecoglou’s achievements as a coach or rattle him and Celtic, it smacked of a real lack of class. Within the game, I think many managers will have raised eyebrows at Beale’s lack of self awareness, especially after the way he left QPR.
And, for me, there’s also just something about the way he talks about the last Rangers title triumph, almost a perception that he was front and centre of that success. Wasn’t Steven Gerrard the actual manager? The one in the firing line? Yes Postecoglou has the resource, but he’s worked at it. He’s a club builder and has had success in different countries over 25 years in management by doing so.
He had to build Celtic up because the club was on the decline when he arrived and the squad was not good enough. He went straight into Champions League qualifiers using kids. He lost three of his first six Premiership games. He’s had to build what he’s now got. Top coaches, managers and observers respect that.
Maybe it’s what the golfer Gary Player and other individuals have said in that the harder you work, the luckier you get because Postecoglou has assembled the most-exciting Celtic side I can remember watching. It’s the fact it’s become so relentless and routine that makes them so special.
There’s been plenty of managers at the club in the past who had the advantages over other clubs and not managed to put successful or enjoyable-to-watch teams onto the pitch. When one team is so dominant in games as Celtic are at the moment, it seems to bring on this feeling from some folk that it’s dull. It’s boring.
Anyone who thinks that simply doesn’t appreciate the game. The speed of Celtic’s play is a joy to watch at times and some of the individuals are worth admission money alone.
Kyogo Furuhashi’s lightning movement and expert finishing. Jota is capable of stuff that makes supporters gasp in appreciation. Reo Hatate is a wonderful footballer who can make you want to stand and applaud when he does something special. When they are on it, it’s exhilarating.
That just doesn’t come around because you are lucky and because you’ve got cash to spend. Celtic have won 26 of their 28 domestic games this season and, importantly, it’s been done, for the most part, with a swashbuckling swagger.
It’s remorseless and it is to be admired, not picked at. It almost seems like, given the run Postecoglou’s team are on and the way they are steamrollering across the country, it’s now time for rivals to start making little pointers and jabs to somehow detract from what they are doing.
It’s unlikely to work. And, if anything, having subtle digs at Postecoglou and his players is even more likely to motivate them to keep going and get stronger. Listen, I have no doubt that Celtic are going to slip up at some point in the coming weeks. It’s football, it just happens.
There will be a day when they don’t fire. A red card goes against them or a ridiculous penalty is given to the opposition due to VAR. Or Postecoglou’s team don’t play at 100 per cent. It happens everywhere to all teams in all countries and it’ll happen to Celtic. When? I’ve no idea. But it will occur.
But, just as they did when St Mirren beat them last September, chances are they’ll get straight back into top gear and begin reeling off wins again. They are not giving anyone a sniff.
Even when they didn’t turn up for the last hour at Ibrox on January 2, they still didn't lose. Rangers played well for Beale that day and they have been doing splendidly for their new manager since he inherited the job from Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
He’s being applauded for the start and rightly so because it’s been impressive. The Rangers performance at Tynecastle in midweek was terrific.
Putting that Old Firm game aside, Beale has had 10 other games. Eight in the Premiership, one Viaplay Cup semi-final at Hampden and one Scottish Cup. He’s won the lot.
In total for Beale's 11 matches at the helm, Rangers have cracked 25 goals and lost nine. In the exact same period of 11 games, Celtic have the identical record, have scored six more and conceded five less than their rivals.
You can argue their Scottish Cup game was against a Championship side in Morton at home and the Rangers tie was away to top-flight St Johnstone. But the point I’m making is that, even though Beale is getting a tune out of Rangers and some believe he’s starting to turn the tide, their outstanding efforts still fall just short of Celtic’s in the same spell under Postecoglou.
Beale’s just getting started in the job, but it’s a measure of the levels and standards which are being set by Postecoglou and his team that he has to maintain. It’s remarkable and the challenge for Celtic is to keep the motivation and keep the hunger.
As Postecoglou is building a squad to improve in next season’s Champions League, I’m not sure that is going to be any issue. Celtic’s work at the moment is astonishing. It’s not to be picked at and demeaned. It’s classy and to be admired. Not devalued.
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