Ange Postecoglou last night insisted he deserves to have the biggest budget in the Scottish top flight – because Celtic are the biggest club in the country.
The Hoops gaffer enjoyed a fairly relaxed deadline day at Lennoxtown, having already snapped up four new recruits well ahead of yesterday’s signing scramble. But he came out firing after broadsides from Livingston boss David Martindale and Rangers rival Michael Beale, who have commented recently on his huge spending power at Parkhead.
Beale claimed Postecoglou is a “lucky man” to be so heavily financed in the Scottish Premiership title fight. And Martindale insisted he has a better pounds-per-points return from his shoestring spending in West Lothian than anyone else in the league. But as he prepared for tonight’s top-flight visit from Martindale’s side, the Celtic manager hit back by stressing that his club’s superior bank balance is only a reflection of the natural order.
Postecoglou said “That’s OK. I actually don’t mind people saying we have the biggest budget because we have the biggest fan base and we are the biggest club. People forget that that money is on the back of hard-earned supporters who don’t have a lot of money and choose to spend a significant portion of it on this football club.
“My role is not to get their money and stick it in the bank. It’s to get their money and reinvest it in the thing they love. That’s my responsibility and why we do what we do.
“If people are saying we are the biggest club in the land, then I don’t think that’s something we need to be embarrassed about. That’s who we are.
"I guess my role in that is to maximise that. Just having the money and not spending it wisely would have people saying, ‘They have the biggest budget but they waste it!’. If people are saying we have the biggest budget and are spending it well, then I’m not sure they’re achieving their goal in saying we have some unfair advantage.”
And the Aussie insisted that, despite Celtic’s wealth, he treats every penny as a prisoner in the transfer market. Postecoglou added: “I take that responsibility very seriously.
“We are not spending money we don’t have here. Through our supporters or through our sponsorships or through our player sales, it’s all money that’s hard-earned.
“It’s not just given to us. We don’t just have a benefactor throwing money at us.
“So it’s important that that money we have here is spent wisely. I reckon we have done that in the time I’ve been here and we’ll continue to do that.”
Having already completed his most recent recruitment drive, Postecoglou was waiting for nothing more than official confirmation of the departure of Greek striker Giorgos Giakoumakis to Atlanta United last night. But asked if he is monitoring the incomings at Ibrox, he shrugged and said: “Nah, mate. If I didn’t need to think about our own transfers I’d be happy, let alone think about somebody else’s.
“No, what I think is important is looking at our place and what we are doing here. We had some clear strategic objectives in this window and I’m pleased to say, from my perspective anyway, that everything we wanted to get done, got done.
“I think that just shows we’re all aligned. What happens at other clubs doesn’t really affect us, to be honest.”
READ NEXT:
