Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has spoken about his own personal encounters with fans of other clubs in the build-up to this week’s Glasgow derby.
Postecoglou has been a breath of fresh air in Scottish football. Even many Rangers fans have found him hard to dislike with his humility and class on show since the moment he walked into the country.
Ange has a glorious chance to overtake our rivals in the Premiership on Wednesday. A victory over Rangers and will feel like a vital moment in the title-race as the Hoops pile the pressure on our rivals.
And as he spoke about the rivalry, Ange has stated that any personal encounters he has had with opposition fans have been generally friendly enough.
As quoted by the Daily Record, the manager said: “I’m not out and about too much to get exposed to the rivalry.
“But the interactions I’ve had with supporters of other clubs have been fairly friendly, plenty of banter. You’re always a bit wary but so far it’s been good-natured. I understand they’re passionate about their club and that’s what I expect them to be.
“And I enjoy meeting people who are passionate about football.”
Ange Postecoglou has fully embraced the Celtic vs Rangers rivalry
You have to admire Ange Postcoglou for the way he has embraced the rivalry in Glasgow. He’s taken to it extremely well and has never been one to stoke the fires. Instead, he’s simply talked up the game here and the rivalry in general.
It probably says a lot that he’s hardly had any negative reactions either. That will, by and large, be down to how he has conducted himself since becoming Celtic manager. It doesn’t matter who you support, Ange has given you absolutely no reason to dislike him as a person.
In fact, you could say something similar about new Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Can we honestly say he’s said anything to try and rile or disrespect Celtic? Maybe it’s coming, but he’s another who doesn’t come across as someone who’s ready to appeal to the lowest common denominator of supporter.
Of course, you would expect hostilities to be ramped up this week. Facing Rangers at Celtic Park is always going to see tensions raise and pressure cranked up. But you wouldn’t expect Ange to fall into the trap of being disrespectful. It’s not the kind of man he is, nevermind the kind of manager.
Even so, this could be Ange’s biggest week as Celtic manager. He’s already negotiated games against Hearts and Dundee United without a host of his key players. If he manages the same for the Glasgow derby, his reputation amongst supporters will reach even greater heights.
Hopefully, that’s exactly how it turns out.
In other news, Manor Solomon, Yossi Benayoun, and Celtic teammates respond to Liel Abada’s class Insta post
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