It’s fair to say that Ange Postecoglou’s decision to keep John Kennedy and Gavin Strachan on at Celtic has received a mixed response.
As discussed earlier, personally I fully back the new manager to make whatever decisions he wants in these early stages.
However, there are certainly supporters out there perturbed by the duo’s presence at Lennoxtown.
It also hasn’t helped the, in my opinion false, perception that Postecoglou is being dictated to by the Celtic board.
Doubters may be comforted by the words of Postecoglou himself though, before he joined Celtic.
Appearing on the Masterminds podcast in March 2020, Ange laid out his philosophy when forming a coaching staff. Prior personal relationships don’t really factor into it. In fact, for him, they can be a hindrance.
When asked about what’s important to him when appointing assistant coaches, Postecoglou said: “The main thing I look for is the passion and drive I have for the game, and people who are curious in their nature.
“I’ve tended to work with people that I haven’t worked with before. I find that’s been good for me as a coach and a person. If you bring somebody who already knows you and how you work, I don’t get challenged as much.
“If I work with somebody who is new, and I have done that fairly regularly in my career, who I don’t know on a personal level but they show those characteristics that I like, part of my job is to get them to buy into what I believe. It works better if they believe in it.
“That’s what I look for in coaches and staff, to have that passion and drive, but also that curiosity and open-mindedness.
“It’s worked well for me. It’s something I will probably do for the rest of my career. I’ll work with different people and new people. It drives everything in the programmes that I work for.”
Ange Postecoglou Celtic staff call was always on the cards
It seems quite clear that Postecoglou was always going to land into Celtic, assess the situation and then take steps forward over a longer period of time than a few weeks.
He’s not given Kennedy and Strachan jobs in his set-up for life. All of this is a work-in-progress.
If you have a look at Postecoglou’s career he doesn’t have a fixed posse or entourage travelling with him from job to job, like Brendan Rodgers or Eddie Howe. Celtic haven’t pushed that reality on him, despite the conspiracy theories.
Yes, Celtic still have to contend with the perception issue when it comes to Kennedy, Strachan and the failures of last season. However, as we explained earlier, the club can take productive steps to combat that.
Postecoglou deserves the space to make his own decisions.
In other news, Celtic announce permanent Vakoun Bayo exit.
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