Ange Postecoglou insists he’s always trying to uphold the Celtic values of Jock Stein.
And the current Parkhead manager admits he’s standing on the icon's shoulders in attempting to do so. Postecoglou ’s team face RB Leipzig tonight 100 years to the day since the club’s greatest-ever manager and 1967 European Cup-winning boss was born. The Aussie, who is without quartet Cameron Carter Vickers, Carl Starfelt, Liel Abada and Aaron Mooy for the Champions League tie in Germany, is inspired by Stein’s incredible achievements.
He said: “He’s one of those figures that exists in football, where his impact on a football club goes beyond just the success. It was about the way the team played, the way they conducted themselves, the connection the team had with the fans and the connection he had with the fans. So, he’s one of those figures that even though his record was unbelievable, it goes beyond that. For guys like me, you’re not so much following in his footsteps as standing on his shoulders and trying to uphold, hopefully, those values.
“I obviously want to bring success to this football club, that’s my aim, but I also want to uphold those values in terms of the way we play our football, understanding what our supporters mean to the football club and all those kinds of things which I think were just as important to Jock Stein.
“His feats in terms of success are unquestionable, particularly with winning the European Cup and his domestic dominance. But I think his legacy goes way beyond that. It can potentially become a burden if you try to emulate his feats because I don’t think anyone is going to get there.
“The spirit in which he managed this football club, the way he got the team to play, I’m really big on that. I’ve said from day one, I want us to be a team that people talk about, not just because of our success, but because of the way we play our football.
“I think that is what that Celtic team embodied. They were exciting to watch irrespective of whether you were a follower of the club or a follower of Scottish football, everyone in the world knew that when Celtic played the football they played it was worth a watch. That’s what I want to try to create with us.”
Postecoglou doesn’t need to go over past footage of Stein’s team to know their brilliance as he added: “I was well versed in it anyway, because they are one of those clubs that historically people always bring up when they talk about major accomplishments and a style of football, that’s one of the teams.
“So I was always well versed in it, but the beauty of this football club is that you are never too far away from it, there are people who are still there from that era who will remind you of it, it’s written on the walls and you just feel it in the air what this football club is about.”
Asked if being inspired by Stein makes him such a good fit for Celtic, Postecoglou said: “Maybe, I think there is definitely an alignment there in the way I want our team to play and the way I want us to connect with our fans that resonates well.
“I’ve certainly felt, for me, it’s been an easy transition into understanding the football club, because a lot of those values are really close to my heart anyway.,
“It’s been easy for me to understand and try to get us on a road that I believe the fans of this football club want us to be.”
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