Former Celtic striker John Hartson has admitted he was ‘ignorant’ about the appointment of Ange Postecoglou at the Bhoys and has lauded his impact on the club.
Hartson was one of the big doubters when the Australian arrived in Scottish football. Not many people on this side of the world knew his credentials and after the Eddie Howe debacle, it’s fair to say there was scepticism.
It didn’t take long for supporters to get on board. By the time he took charge of his first match, there were plenty of people who had his back.
John Hartson holds his hands up on Ange Postecoglou
Hartson has loved what he’s seen since then and has held his hands up in the media today.
The pundit told Football Scotland: “Celtic were all over the place at the start of the season and didn’t have a manager. They thought were going to get Eddie Howe but Ange Postecoglou comes in and no disrespect nobody had heard of him.
“He’s got a model he sticks to and I would probably say if we hadn’t got Ange Postecoglou in we wouldn’t be where we are. The board deserve a lot of credit for backing their manager. We wouldn’t be where we are now if we hadn’t had the opportunity to bring Ange Postecoglou into the club.
“I was one of the ignorant ones. I said I don’t think he’s a big enough name and I’m not alone in that. A lot of people said ‘who is he?’, ‘what’s he done?’. Boy, has he not surprised everybody? He’s stood up. He’s very enthusiastic and knows how he wants to play and has the crowd in the palm of his hand right now.”
Hartson won’t be alone in the media community when it comes to rushing to judgment on Postecoglou. But he may well be one of the only ones who admit it. Fair play to the Welshman here – he isn’t afraid to say he got it wrong.
The job Postecoglou has done so far has been remarkable. He’s already won one trophy and has a good shot of winning two more before the end of the season.
I don’t think many people expected the Bhoys to be challenging for these honours at the start of the season. There’s lots more to come too. You get the feeling Celtic are still only at the start of a journey, regardless of what happens between now and May.
In other news, Celtic announce match sell-out 2 weeks in advance as title hype increases.
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