Former Celtic striker Charlie Nicholas has been forced into an embarrassing u-turn on Ange Postecoglou after the Hoops boss has managed to turn the club’s form around.
Postecoglou is slowly building momentum once more at Parkhead after back-to-back away wins at Aberdeen and Motherwell respectively. The victories answered a lot of questions about the character of the players and the tactical ability of the manager.
And it also came immediately after some ridiculous comments from Nicholas in which he labelled Postecoglou as the “new Ronny Deila” [Scottish Daily Express, print edition, 28/09, page 57].
Now, however, he’s singing a different tune. Nicholas has labelled Celtic as the main challengers for the title as he started a different rhetoric.
Speaking via his Scottish Daily Express column [print edition, 19/10, page 55], Nicholas said: “Celtic look a lot more promising and they look like they will be Rangers’ main challengers again. They have won two away games at Aberdeen and Motherwell. I wouldn’t say they have built up real momentum but it has been a start.
“Ange Postecoglou now looks to be getting a bit of strength on his bench and the signs are more encouraging. Christopher Jullien is also close to coming back, although I think it will take him a good few games to get up to speed.
“Things are a lot more positive and it would be good if he could get a win against the Hungarians of Ferencvaros in the Europa League. It has been a good weekend for Celtic and if they can win in Europe that will build the confidence further.”
Charlie Nicholas was too quick to judge Celtic boss
We all had concerns a few weeks ago and rightly so. There weren’t many positives to be taking out of slip-ups to the likes of Livingston and Dundee United. Especially considering the away form we’d shown in the early stages of the season too.
However, Nicholas was one who simply judged Postecoglou far too early. Having him down as the new Ronny Deila was poor from someone who should know better.
Everyone was quick to acknowledge the rebuild that needed doing at Parkhead. But then you have those like Nicholas who weren’t and likely still aren’t willing to actually give the manager the time to complete it.
Yes he needs results if he’s to see his project through. But it feels as though every slip-up this season has been met with a disaster narrative. It’s embarrassing and over-the-top. We could all question whether Postecoglou was good enough for the club after recent slip-ups. But no true Celtic fan was judging him based on a couple of slip-ups.
The Greek-Australian will be judged on what his Celtic team produces over the course of a season. Not over the course of a couple of weeks in September. Nicholas’ embarrassing u-turn shows just how fickle football can be at times.
Hopefully, the manager continues to prove his doubters wrong.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
