When Ange Postecoglou was the Celtic manager, the team was beset with terrible injury issues.
The most common injury at Celtic during Ange’s tenure was the hamstring. The high-pressure, dynamic style of football that the Australian put in place put a serious strain on players’ muscles and tendons.
So, to combat that, Postecoglou brought in an unconventional injury prevention method that Celtic fans will not have heard of and, apparently, it was a complete success.
However, it appears Brendan Rodgers was not a fan and the Celtic boss canned it when he took over the club.
So what was this mystery treatment?
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West End Foot Clinic deployed at Celtic by Postecoglou as injury prevention method
The owner of West End Foot Clinic, Emma-Jo Montgomery appeared on the Connect Conversations podcast to explain how Ange Postecoglou set up a podiatry injury prevention method at Celtic.
Sounds strange, right? But it appears that Postecoglou was so bought into foot health that he hired Emma-Jo as the podiatrist reveals exactly what she did to help Celtic players and their fight against injury.
Speaking on the podcast, Emma-Jo said [50m 30s], “I used to work at Celtic, right? None of the boys had seen anybody about their feet.
“I’m like, you’re on thousands of pounds a week. That’s your job. I was like that like your feet are your money. And I remember walking in because it was Ange Postecoglou and he was like would you do a talk on why [foot health] it’s important?
“And I was like absolutely. So I walked in I think they were all expecting a wee old granny. And obviously I go in with tattoos and they’re like alright maybe this is a bit different.
“I started talking about the Gait analysis and how that then affects knee injuries and deep freeze is not an answer to everything which is what you see on pitches.
“You know if you’re running, it’s that magic spray as they call it, right. No! Like no, no! There’s more to it.”
The mystery Celtic player who ‘has never been injured since’ attending West End Foot Clinic
There appears to be a player at Celtic whose feet were an ‘absolute mess’ and since visiting the clinic, the mystery Parkhead man has not been injured since.
Emma-Jo continued, “I think people might guess just because of his like seniority and maybe like attitude maybe?”
“I was like right come on up then. I said have you been injured? And he’s like yeah. And I was like right have you been injured? So it came about that his feet were an absolute mess. Absolute mess. Right.
“Do you know he hasn’t been injured since? He’s not been injured since.
“When Ange left, not that I knew, but I kind of had that feeling he was going. And when I saw that he was leaving, I had bought into him because of his philosophy.
“The new guy [Rodgers] I think he thought I was talking crap, right? Don’t get me wrong [it’s his opinion].
“But listen, I don’t take it to heart.”
What a great story and it gives a superb insight into how Postecoglou took players’ health and injury concerns seriously as he looked to wrestle the power back to Celtic from Rangers during his time at the club.
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