IF the current rubbishing of Ange Postecoglou’s credentials from a fair old rump of Tottenham Hotspur fans (laden as they are with trophy success) sounds familiar to you, then it should. While such hubristic dismissals are now provoking outrage in Scotland, they were once de rigueur around these parts.
What is that they say about blind squirrels occasionally tripping over a nut now and again? Well, if you will indulge me, it seems that almost exactly two years ago, I actually made something of a decent point. Which I will repeat for you here.
“I think Ange will be great fun at Celtic,” I told those fortunate few, my followers on Twitter.
“A risky appointment but something a bit different. And I'll say this, we're the first to get angry with English folk being dismissive of Scottish players/managers/football, so the guy should be given a chance.”
It was nice to be reminded of this over the weekend - so rare are the good points I make, apparently, that my followers recall them fully two years on - so let’s see if I can eventually back it up by making another one; the time is right for Ange Postecoglou to join Spurs.
Purely from his own perspective, that is, and from that of a club in Tottenham that is perpetually stuck in crisis mode. It seems a marriage made in heaven.
Let’s not forget, when Postecoglou arrived at Celtic he pretty much had Callum McGregor to work with in the dressing room, while brief executive Dom McKay was running around the boardroom with his hair on fire. And as the man himself pointed out yesterday, there were many who saw him as something of a ‘joke’ upon his arrival in Scotland.
The feat that Postecoglou pulled off in rebuilding a squad from scratch and coming within a whisker of a Treble in his first season was bordering on miracle territory, and having gone one better this season by wrapping up the clean sweep against Inverness at Hampden on Saturday, there won’t be a Celtic fan alive who doesn’t believe he could walk on water.
He turns 58 in August. Postecoglou might be an up-and-coming coach in the context of his inexperience in European football, but he is hardly in the first flush of youth. While he has clearly bought into what it means to lead a club like Celtic and no doubt loves both the institution and the fans dearly for the support they have given him, he isn’t getting any younger.
Indeed, he has mentioned this before, when – on the surface, at least – he was addressing the future of Josip Juranovic as his transfer to Union Berlin unfolded.
"He just wants to maximise his opportunities, to be honest,” Postecoglou said.
“I agree with him. That's what all of us have in our careers, a limited time and we want to take opportunities.”
On Saturday, as he has done all week, Postecoglou straight-batted questions over his immediate future, but what he didn’t say when asked if he anticipated being at Celtic next season was as telling as what he did.
“I anticipate enjoying this moment for the next 24, 48 hours, as long as I can, before somebody drags me away and takes my attention away from enjoying something that has been hard-earned,” he said.
“The reality of it is there’s probably players in that dressing room who won’t be here next year. That’s the nature of football.
“But I want them to enjoy it. I’m going to enjoy it and that’s all I’m going to focus on until somebody grabs me by the collar and tells me that I have to answer certain questions.”
Postecoglou is making a good fist of this management lark, but with answers like that, he may have a career in politics to fall back on if things go pear-shaped. A simple ‘yes’ would have ended the rampant speculation, but its absence will only fuel that fire.
You will note that I specifically haven’t stated it is the right time for Celtic to lose Postecoglou. From their point of view, how could it be? The void he will leave in the hearts of the Celtic fans will rival the one he leaves in their dugout, and if he does now go, it will hurt even more than when Brendan Rodgers slinked off to Leicester City.
That is where the comparisons to the Rodgers situation should begin and end, though. Postecoglou has not left mid-season, and while he has courted the Celtic crowd and heartily thumped the badge on his jumper or jacket, he has stopped short of proclaiming the club to be his one true love.
In a roundabout way though, while the Celtic fans would dearly love the opportunity to have at least one more season under Postecoglou’s leadership, there may be a positive buried within his departure for the club in the long run.
There is a growing – albeit grudging – acceptance among Celtic fans of their place in the footballing food chain. The board are certainly keenly aware of it. Spurs may never be as ‘big’ a club as Celtic in their eyes, but what they can offer both in terms of regular competition and financial muscle is light years beyond the means of Celtic.
If Postecoglou goes there and succeeds, then it will not only reflect well on him, but it will do much to garnish the reputation of Celtic as an attractive place for top coaches to enjoy success while simultaneously placing themselves in the shop window for the English Premier League.
That may be a sad realisation for many and a sorry situation for one of Europe’s great traditional clubs to be in, but we are where we are.
Postecoglou isn’t a fan of being labelled ‘lucky’. Clearly. But there is no doubt that Celtic have been lucky to have him, and the odds are that Spurs fans will one day feel the same way.
The Australian arrived as an unknown quantity and, even if he does leave now, he will do so as one of the most successful managers in Celtic’s history. It may ultimately be a brief stay, but for the Celtic fans, it’s been a hell of a ride, mate.
