Now that the transfer window is over, Celtic have the set group of players that Ange Postecoglou will be working with until January. But the hard work of the club doesn’t end there in terms of recruitment and the ‘rebuild’.
In fact, Ange has already made it very clear he will be making staff changes. Last month, he told reporters that he was solely focused on getting players in the door. But with the window shut, we should now see movement on key staff.
Postecoglou said on August 4th when asked whether he wanted his own personnel in the door [Celtic YouTube]: “Yeah, absolutely yeah. We’ve got some gaps there and we’ll definitely fill those gaps with the right people – that’s really important.
“I’ve got some ideas on that and Dom’s been really supportive. At the moment, my focus is well and truly on getting the players in.”
So what kind of staff will we see arrive at the club? Well, I wouldn’t be expecting the coaching team to drastically change.
Ange seems happy to work with John Kennedy, Stephen McManus and Gavin Strachan on the training ground.
However, the manager has spoken about the urgent needs for sports science staff.
Speaking to The Scotsman in July, the Bhoys boss said: “People have asked me about bringing my own people in. Well, it’s not the coaching area that I think we need that extra support in.
“I think the areas we need are particularly in the conditioning area and the sports science area, we need some more people in to help us. It’s going to be a punishing schedule.
“I’m a big believer in needing to manage your squad of players through that period if you want to play the kind of football we want to play, be a team that plays high intensity, pressurises the opposition and really wants to move the ball quickly then that takes a physical toll.
“So, looking after the players off the field is really important. And certainly we’re looking to bring in people who will help us in those areas.”
The club’s head of sports science, Jack Nayler, left the club at the end of last season to joining German club RB Leipzig.
Hopefully the club are also planning on bringing in a recruitment specialist to help Celtic with the January transfer window and next summer.
As we know, Ange was left with lots of hands on work with regards to bringing players in this summer, with reported input from Dermot Desmond too.
That’s not ideal and we have the capability to have someone in place to take care of all that work.
There’s also the small matter of a potential director of football, working above Ange as his liaison to the board and overseeing structural changes across all aspects of the football department. But that might be a bit further down the line, with Gordon Strachan currently working on a consultancy basis to figure out a direction for the youth and women’s team.
There are certainly interesting times ahead and, given Ange’s August comments, we should at least expect movement in some of the technical football roles sooner rather than later.
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