When reading some of the press conference quotes ahead of Hearts vs Celtic this weekend, it was interesting to come across an unsung Hoops hero on more than one occasion.
Gavin Strachan has endured a bit of an unfair wrap in his three-and-a-bit seasons so far at Celtic. He became a bit of a meme during the dire Covid-hit season when none of us really had much else to do.
Strachan and his laptop were a running joke. Yet, over time he has proven to be part of a successful Celtic setup, winning numerous trophies.
The son of former Hoops boss Gordon does a lot of the unseen work on the training ground. That was pointed out by Matt O’Riley at his Friday press conference.
“I work a lot with Gavin Strachan,” the September Player of the Month said. “I go through my clips with him and assess what I could have done better with the fine details. (Celtic YouTube)
So Strachan does some unheralded work with the forward players that we are seeing play out on the pitch.
It seems like he also knows how to make defenders like him, judging by some comments from recent Hearts signing Frankie Kent. The Englishman worked with Strachan at Peterborough United.
“The only guy I know [at Celtic] is Strachan,” Kent told The Herald on Friday. “He was my assistant coach at Peterborough. It will be good to see him. We had a good relationship and he helped me a lot, which was nice of him.
“He was just very hands-on with me. He was always helping me, in terms of the technical side, and also watching videos with him and stuff like that. Just little bits of learning. I can’t really thank him enough for what he helped me with.”
So Strachan is clearly an outstanding coach who players have a lot of time for. Let’s hope he is someone we can keep around for plenty more success at Celtic.
In other news, Brendan Rodgers clears up Daizen Maeda Celtic concern
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