Ange Postecoglou wasn’t known for wars of words with the Celtic board.
But given his recent comments about frustrations with transfers at Tottenham, it’s fair to assume that he would’ve likely had similar experiences at Celtic.
Brendan Rodgers has just left the club after publicly bemoaning their performance in the summer transfer window.
One man who worked with both is Darren O’Dea, who was B team manager under Postecoglou and Rodgers before later becoming Player Pathways Manager
Reflecting on his time at Celtic Park, the Irishman has recalled the time when the Aussie encouraged him to pressure the club’s board.
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Darren O’Dea on Ange Postecoglou at Celtic
Postecoglou’s influence on the club’s recruitment was evident from the start.
Six players were signed from the J League in his two seasons, as well as former Australia star Aaron Mooy.
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Speaking on Open Goal, O’Dea revealed that Postecoglou had backed his push to sign St Mirren’s Dylan Reid, which was at odds with some at the club.
He said: “I wanted to sign a player that no one else did.
“And [Ange] kept saying to me: ‘If you want to do it, do it, and I’ll back you.’
“But it was the board, like, and everything. You’re saying [you] want me to go in with the board!
“[It was] the boy Dylan Reid. He ended up going down to [Crystal Palace]. It became a bit of a saga and all.
“[Ange] kept baiting me to go in and take on the club. ‘Go on and do it, and I’ll back you!’…
“[I] never done it.”
Heavily linked with the Hoops at the time, Reid has now been at Palace for two-and-a-half years without making a senior appearance.
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Ange Postecoglou’s two years at Celtic
When Postecoglou took over from Neil Lennon, Celtic had just finished 25 points behind Rangers in a disastrous season behind closed doors.
He lost all of his first three away league matches and dropped down to the Europa League, but signings such as Kyogo Furuhashi, Jota and Josip Juranovic eventually led a new-look team to a League Cup win.
In the end, Celtic won the league against a Rangers team which had made the Europa League final. The season after, the best was yet to come.
Despite failing to get a win in the Champions League, the Celts steamrolled the league, and Postecoglou bowed out in his last game by delivering a treble.
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