Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou isn’t too fussed about what Rangers have done in the January transfer window, despite the Ibrox club dominating headlines.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst has gone for star power, pinning their hopes on Juventus’ Aaron Ramsey and Manchester United’s Amad Diallo. Postecoglou, meanwhile, has found more joy in scanning undervalued markets and finding gems.
The approaches are starkly different. But Postecoglou isn’t getting wound up or concerned by what’s happening over the Clyde. Instead, he’ll take notice when performances can justify the hype. But he does think it’s good for the competition as a whole when opposition teams make a statement with their transfer business.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, Postecoglou said: “I don’t spend a lot of time focusing on what other clubs are doing.
“Because for us, it’s always about how we build our squad, and if we think we’re building a squad that can be successful, and that’s the most important thing.
“I think any time opposition sides bring in players and strengthen, it makes the competition better, I think. But with all these things, no-one had heard of Kyogo Furuhashi before I brought him in. It’s all about the impact you make when you play. Signing players is not an exact science, as we found out.
“It’s more about performances. That’s when I take notice. When new players make an impact on the field, rather than when they sign.”
You’d hope Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou would talk this way, whether it’s Rangers or anyone else
Quite right, Ange.
The important thing is the impact these players make. The likes of Kris Boyd and other fawning pundits are practically chiselling Rangers’ name on the Scottish Premiership, but Aaron Ramsey hasn’t played a game yet.
Taking a wider view, if big name footballers come to the Scottish Premiership, then that’s not necessarily a bad thing at all. If there are more eyes watching Scottish top-flight games, then theoretically it should benefit everyone. In terms of what Ange is doing at Celtic, more attention on the work being done at Parkhead is hardly a problem.
What we’re not going to do, though, is get overawed. We know the league we have here. It’s constantly gripping, and we have storylines like nowhere else. The idea of little old Scotland getting a former Premier League star and saying it’s the biggest news ever is, frankly, embarrassing.
Not to criticise asking Ange Postecoglou about this, of course. It’s a big story, and he always has an interesting take.
However, if anyone was expecting the Celtic boss to start getting starry-eyed and telling everyone how honoured we should be, then they’d have been waiting a long time.
We focus on what we do, we don’t stop, and we celebrate at the end.
Read more: Ange Postecoglou delivers Callum McGregor status for Celtic vs Rangers after training return
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