Mile Jedinak has revealed that his current coaching role at Tottenham wouldn’t have been possible without a visit to meet Ange Postecoglou at Celtic during training.
The Tottenham assistant coach was invited to come to training and pick Postecoglou’s brain while also watching how Celtic trained under his former coach.
Jedinak played for Postecoglou for four years with the Australia national team, and this led to the former Australia midfielder coming to Lennoxtown to see how Postecoglou’s training methods had evolved from his time in Japan with Yokohama F. Marinos and at the time with Celtic.
Postecoglou had incredible success at Celtic, winning five out of six domestic trophies available in his two seasons with the Hoops, including a domestic treble for only the eighth time in Celtic’s history. Therefore, it is clear why Jedinak wanted to see how Celtic trained with the aim of learning from Postecoglou and the training methods he employs.
Jedinak said: [Optus Sport], “It wasn’t until the back end of the first season at Celtic when I had the chance to go up. Again it was great. You can sit down properly and speak about what it’s been like from playing and on the journey to coaching and doing it that way.
“When I went to Celtic, probably just getting a gauge of the staff and the atmosphere. It was seeing that dynamic, getting a feel for the place and in terms of how they had responded to him.
“It was no surprise, but it was done in a very similar way to the national team perspective. I got a reflection of what it’s like day to day. It’s not straightforward, but I saw enough in a couple of days to see he’d got it to where he wants it to be, and they were all in on it.
“Having the connection with Ange, going up to Celtic and seeing him and picking his brain on a few things. He provided me with great advice and support.”
Jedinak’s quotes about his visit to observe Celtic train highlight the incredible standards that Postecoglou had created in the Hoops’ training. Jedinak emphasized the positive atmosphere, showcasing that despite the demanding nature of training at such a high level, players still enjoyed Postecoglou’s methods.
Postecoglou’s time at Celtic will be remembered fondly by supporters for bringing success and an exciting brand of football at a time when it seemed unlikely for Celtic to win trophies amid the biggest rebuild in the club’s history. This period saw stars like Scott Brown, Odsonne Edouard, Kristoffer Ajer, and Ryan Christie all departing the club in the summer of 2021.
Jedinak will look to learn even more from Postecoglou as his assistant coach at Tottenham this year, but one thing is clear: if it were not for his visit to see Celtic train, Jedinak might not have become a part of Postecoglou’s coaching team.
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