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Another fascinating Postecoglou video emerges; massive culture change in store for Celtic
A wide range of Ange Postecoglou media has surfaced since he was appointed as Celtic manager.
From snippets of foul-mouthed team talks to a brilliant webinar, we’ve seen different sides of the new boss.
Another video popped up over the weekend. Although this one is a fair bit older, from his time as a successful Brisbane Roar boss, it’s still illuminating and gives us an idea of what to expect at Celtic.
Last season, Neil Lennon spoke about the need for a ‘culture change’ at Celtic. He made the comments after his side were trounced 4-1 by Sparta Prague in the Europa League. [Sky Sports]
Lennon was reaching for any excuse by that point, but it doesn’t mean he was wrong. The club does need a defined culture. It requires a set of goals for players and staff to live up to.
It’s not enough to try and be winners; it’s about putting the processes in place to become winners and following that code. Most importantly, it’s about having the right people in place to take part.
Postecoglou’s definition of culture change
Interesting then to watch Postecoglou’s speech at a 2012 ‘Leadership Conference’ in Sydney.
The entire thing is 18 minutes long, but the part that piqued my interest was about the changes he made when he first arrived at Roar.
He said: “What does cultural change mean? It’s the people. There’s no point in me saying I want this type of culture, and the people didn’t fit into it.
“As soon as I went into the organisation, I said, ‘This is what I want the environment to look like.’ So I had a look at which existing people in the organisation fit into that. The ones that didn’t, we moved them on.
“That wasn’t easy because I was moving on some of the favourite players of the fans, the club, some of the best players in the country. They just didn’t fit my philosophy and the environment I wanted to create. So I brought in people who suited that. The cultural change came from the people I was working with.
“That was the key thing for me. When you’re talking about culture, sometimes people are so determined to fix things in a certain way they’re not looking at the people who will be working in that environment.”
Is culture change on the way at Celtic? / (Photo by Masashi Hara/Getty Images)
Celtic must have the stomach for Postecoglou changes
When Postecoglou made those cultural changes, Roar became one of the most successful teams in Australian sporting history.
We’ve yet to see what staff that Postecoglou will have in place at Celtic. However, early reports indicate he’s willing to give those at Lennoxtown a chance to prove themselves.
The 55-year-old won’t waste time making changes if he feels that’s needed at Lennoxtown. That’s true when it comes to both players and staff.
New Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou / (Photo by Hiroki Watanabe/Getty Images)
Ronny Deila fought those kinds of battles during his reign as the Celtic boss but never seemed to have enough power or discipline from the outside looking in.
The board must back Postecoglou to enact the clear out he wants if he identifies weak links. It’s not just about the budget on offer to him as the manager, but the willingness to make profound changes.
Do Celtic have the stomach for a revolution? We’re about to find out.
In other news, Michael Stewart unhappy with Steve Clarke’s use of Celtic star at Hampden.
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