The manager of the Australia national team has backed Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou to get the best out of Aaron Mooy following his move to Glasgow.
Mooy starred for Postecoglou previously when his fellow Aussie managed the national side, and the current incumbent Graham Arnold believes the pair will have a productive relationship again at Celtic.
As reported by Vince Rugari for The Age, Arnold said: “We all know that Ange will get the best out of Aaron, and get him fit and ready,
“It’s just great that he’s going to a club where they’re playing in the Champions League, and he’s going to get plenty of match minutes up there. Obviously they’re a good team, Celtic, and he’ll have his work cut out to get him in the starting XI, of course.
“But the fact that he’s going to be playing a lot of football before the World Cup is a relief for myself and, no doubt, all the Socceroo fans back here in Australia to know that Aaron’s got his club future sorted out.
“Instead of a new player walking into a new club with a new coach who doesn’t really know his mindset and his character and qualities that well – it can take time for that new coach to get to know him. But he’s walking in on the other side of it, where the coach is very familiar with him, knows exactly what he’s getting.”
Mooy has been a key man for Australia since his debut in 2012, scoring seven times in 52 appearances for the Socceroos, and Arnold has backed him to star again at the Qatar World Cup later this year once he’s brought up to speed at Celtic by Postecoglou.
Arnold said: “He knows what to expect with Ange and Ange knows his game.”
“With better fitness, with more match rhythm, and under Ange, I expect that when he walks into Qatar he’ll be the leader that we need on the field.”
Mooy has re-joined the league in which he made his start in professional football, having played 30 times for St Mirren between 2010 and 2012 before moves to the A-League, and eventually the Premier League with Manchester City, Huddersfield and Brighton.
Still only 31, Postecoglou will hope that the midfielder has plenty to give after his spell in China, and clearly a successful spell at Celtic would benefit not only the club and player, but the national team too, ahead of the December World Cup.
Here’s hoping Arnold’s assessment is correct and Postecoglou can get the best out of Mooy again.
In other news: Full Celtic squad depth chart after Mooy and Jenz arrivals; what positions are next.
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