Ange Postecoglou has insisted Celtic supporters don’t need to worry about his team being broken up before they really get a chance to develop in the UEFA Champions League, because better players could come along.
Postecoglou’s big message surrounding this year’s group stage has been one of learning and continual improvement year on year.
However, given Celtic’s status in European football, it’s reasonable to expect a few high-performing members of this squad will be moved on for a large profit down the line.
How do you improve year on year if you don’t keep your best players? For Postecoglou, it’s simple, with effective recruitment that can, if anything, hasten progress.
As quoted by The Daily Record, he said when asked about this subject yesterday: “You’ve still got the template. If our players move on, our job then is to replace them with better versions.
“We brought them here for a reason, and they have moved on for a reason. So we know how that works. When we bring in the next one, can we get a better version of that player?
“If anything, it may even help you transform it even quicker. If we’ve got players who move on because they have done fantastically well for us, that’s a helluva template. And if I’m getting a better version of him here, that’s going to mean our progress will be accelerated.”
It’s a confident, positive outlook on the situation. Postecoglou clearly strongly believes that Celtic’s recruitment performance will continue to delight fans over the next couple of years.
That remains to be seen, of course, but Postecoglou hasn’t steered us wrong so far. Despite lots of chatter about the manager’s own future in the last couple of months, increasingly he is making it clear he has a long-term vision at Celtic.
If the Australian and the club stay on the same page, there could be exciting times ahead.
In other news, Celtic’s unlikely UEFA Europa League route; what needs to happen explained.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
