Legendary ex-Celtic captain Scott Brown has praised Ange Postecoglou's recruitment this season, as he issued a warning regarding inevitable interest in star striker Kyogo Furuhashi.
The former Hibs, Aberdeen and Scotland midfielder, now in charge of League One side Fleetwood Town in his first managerial role, was full of praise for the Australian and the job he has done so far at Celtic.
Brown, who was speaking to Sky Bet, said: “Celtic have done well this season. I’m enjoying watching them when I can. Ange Postecoglou’s recruitment has been fantastic. He’s brought a lot of overseas players in – they’ve done well. They’ve got great energy but also great awareness.
“They just want to make themselves better and they play with a smile on their face. That’s the best thing you could possibly see as a Celtic fan. Somebody playing with a smile on their face knowing they’re winning games week in, week out.”
Fleetwood Town currently find themselves in 13th place in the league table, a solid mid-table start for the rookie manager. The Scotsman masterminded an impressive FA Cup run for the Fishermen, however, claiming significant scalps in the shape of Queens Park Rangers and Sheffield Wednesday before succumbing to Vincent Kompany's Burnley.
Brown as a player won 33 domestic honours combined during his time at both Hibs and Celtic, including 10 Scottish Premierships, six Scottish Cups and seven League Cups. In doing so, he played alongside some great strikers across his 20-year career, such as Scott McDonald, Gary Hooper and Moussa Dembele.
The Celtic great, therefore, has a gauge of the process that transpires when top strikers like Kyogo perform for the club, which alerts other interested parties to their services.
He said: “The thing with Kyogo Furuhashi is this - as soon as you score goals and play well, there is always going to be clubs interested in you.
So it becomes a thing of whether a player wants to leave, how much a club wants to keep you or if you both want to be part of this phenomenal feeling that you keep winning games and you keep driving on to become the best you can possibly be for Celtic or wherever he ends up, throughout his career.”
The Fleetwood boss also made clear the help and assistance that some former Parkhead bosses have bestowed upon him as a young manager making his first steps in the managerial game, in the shape of three previous gaffers he had previously worked under.
He said: “I speak to Brendan Rodgers, Gordon Strachan and Neil Lennon. I take little bits from all three of them. They’ve been huge in my footballing career, and they’ve been huge in my managerial career as well.
“They’ve taken time to speak with me about coaching stuff, what you need to do, the small details as well. And it doesn’t take a lot to help somebody out now and those three have done way more than enough for me.”
Brown's former team Celtic are one win away from retaining the league title, and with that, a Champions League group stage place. Alluding to this, he spoke about how Postecoglou's side can improve on this season's European campaign.
He said: “The one thing that Celtic need to do to get to the next level is just win games. They’ve played some fantastic football in the Champions League this season and they played against top-quality teams.
“It’s never easy but they competed well and watching them compared to other clubs – they did fantastic.”
