Dig or no dig, relentless Ange Postecoglou just made it clear he's moved on from Celtic saga

By John McGinley

February 3, 2023

A lot of people will be reading a lot of different things into Ange Postecoglou’s comments on the likely Giorgos Giakoumakis exit from Celtic, but one thing is clear – he’s moved on from the Greek striker.

Speculation surrounding Giakoumakis dominated the Celtic scene throughout January as news of medicals, bids, his happiness and role in the Bhoys squad were all big talking points.

Postecoglou has shown a lot of patience and grace in dealing with the matter, letting us know when anything tangible was worth updating supporters on. Now though, he appears to be washing his hands of the situation.

Ange Postecoglou not interested in Giakoumakis deal chatter

Speaking in a media conference today, the Bhoys boss said [Celtic FC]: “As I said the other day it will get concluded fairly soon.

“To be honest it is not on my radar anymore so I will probably hear about it at the same time as you guys. Maybe, if you’re on Instagram, you will hear about it earlier than me. It is not on my radar and I don’t expect him to be back in the group but it hasn’t been finalised yet.”

On social media, it seems plenty of fans are viewing this as a dig at Giakoumakis and his cryptic Instagram posts over the last couple of months. There may be some truth to that, but I more see it as a case of just Ange being Ange.

Too much ambition at Celtic to focus on the past

We know that once the Celtic manager has resolved a situation in his own mind, he doesn’t really care about it anymore. Certainly in a professional context when it comes to thinking about Celtic’s future.

If he isn’t expecting Giakoumakis back in the squad, he doesn’t have any interest in updates and details of what is going on with the Greek player. Why would he?

He’s always made it very clear he is laser-focused on what’s directly in front of him at the Bhoys. There’s no room for anything else when there are enough spinning plates as it is.

It appears this is no longer an active concern with regard to the playing side of Celtic. The club are clearly working on business considerations like the fee, add-ons and such, but this saga is done and dusted otherwise.

In other news, Callum Davidson admits problems with McDiarmid Park pitch ahead of Celtic visit; Ange Postecoglou’s view.