Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou and his intense work ethic hailed by former assistant

By Euan Davidson

January 14, 2022

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has earned more rave reviews; this time from former assistant John Hutchinson.

Hutchinson was Ange’s assistant at Yokohama F Marinos, a job that the former A League star got through bothering Ange on LinkedIn. It paid off for Hutchinson, who worked closely with the current Celtic manager in Japan, and learned an enormous amount.

Hutchinson, now the boss at USL side El Paso Locomotive, has beamed about the influence Postecoglou had on him, and described the intensity of working alongside the former Australia boss.

In an interview with Keep Up, Hutchinson said: “The guy cares.

“People want to win everywhere but the will to win for him and the way he sees football… people say it’s like a diploma in football working with him, but it’s much more than that.

“I’ve had some amazing coaches… but Ange, I can’t describe exactly what it was like but it was the most accelerating and stressful time in football. Just the love of the game. I thought I loved the game. He used to say it’s not a job and I take that on board. I wake up thinking football and go to bed thinking football. What else do you want?

“He doesn’t say much. There could be days where I’m greeting him in the morning and not saying much at all. But the nurture, leadership and love for the players, even his distance in the way he works, you feel it.

“All the players know everyday counts, every minute. How you turn up and present yourself, to training, games and video, everything counts. It was life-changing. I always had a philosophy of possession and attacking football but it’s completely changed and gone to another level.”

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou continues to get fantastic reviews from former colleagues

It’s hard to remember a manager who’s been as lavishly praised by his former colleagues. It seems like every week, there’s someone else from Ange’s past giving him a ringing endorsement.

What Hutchinson is saying here, though, is particularly important. Especially about every small detail counting. That’s exactly what Celtic needed after last season.

In 20-21, the professionalism, the sheen of the PR machine, and of course performances, were all sorely lacking. Often, we looked unprepared for matches, and that showed in some extremely disappointing results. We needed a manager with a hand in everything, from training to how players represented the club.

Postecoglou has already brought the best out of many of the Celtic players he inherited. Callum McGregor has a new lease of life as captain and a number 6. The renaissance of Anthony Ralston has been incredible. Meanwhile, signings like Joe Hart, Kyogo and Jota have raised both the technical level, and the standards.

Yesterday, Greg Taylor described how Ange’s signings have improved the work ethic at Celtic. He’s consciously brought in grafters, because he’s one himself. All encompassing attention-to-detail and putting a shift in are Ange’s hallmarks thus far at Celtic.

He’s a guy that seems to, fundamentally, be about bringing the joy of the game to his players and coaches on a daily basis. After last season, we truly needed that.

Read more: Joe Hart looks raring to go for Celtic after missing two games in late 2021