Steven McGarry insists ‘second season syndrome’ might be an issue for the rest of Scottish football – but it won’t be for Ange Postecoglou ’s Celtic.
That former midfielder was at Perth Glory when the gaffer began to make his name at Brisbane Roar with back-to-back A-League titles.
Since then it has been a success-filled road with Australia, Yokohama Marinos in the J-League and now in Scotland.
Postecoglou has been like a breath of fresh air as he picked Celtic and turned them into double winners - who are now guaranteed a crack a spot in the Champions League group stage.
The question now is how far will the 56-year-old be able to take the Hoops?
McGarry, who had spells with St Mirren, Ross County and Motherwell, said: “Ange is never the type of coach to stand still. He’s always been quite innovative in terms of formation, tactics and styles.
“He’s not afraid to try new things and to mix things up.
“As an opposition coach or manager, it is hard to second guess him because he is constantly trying to evolve and make his teams and players better.
“Ange’s teams definitely get stronger with every season. They won a couple A-Leagues when he was at Brisbane.
“He kept them winning at Roar and it’s hard in Australia because there is a salary cap and a lot of the teams have similar budgets and then it becomes more about your tactics and your recruitment.
“There are so many aspects that Ange can tweak and will use to his advantage.”
Key to Celtic’s success is Postecoglou’s recruitment – Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Kyogo Furuhashi, and Yosuke Ideguchi all arrived from the J-League and a market he knew well, while Carl Starfelt, Liel Abada, Matt O’Riley, Josip Juranovic and Joe Hart settled quickly within his system.
There have also been the loans of Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers who are in the process of making moves permanent. Every single one has made an impact or at least had pass marks.
McGarry said: “When I went out to Perth Glory, he took over at Brisbane Roar and made a lot of changes in his playing staff.
“Craig Moore and Danny Tiatto all left. Ange came in and made his own signing and they were smart signings.
“There were Europeans who were top players for Brisbane and the A-League for two or three years. He has a real eye for a player and he has shown that in his first year at Celtic.
“Look at all the players he has signed and the majority if not all of them have made a real impact. He knows players and the ones who fit into the way he wants to play.
“They have to fit into how he wants his teams to play. His teams have always played football, he likes to get the ball down and to have high energy and movement.”
Inverted full-backs are a trademark of Postecoglou’s Celtic sides but McGarry reckons there will be another contend with next season because Postecoglou is a manager who likes to think outside of the box.
The Scot said: “At Brisbane he liked the full-back, midfielder and winger all rotating. I’ve seen a few Celtic games and I see a big play has been the inverted full-back going and joining in.
“You’ve seen Greg Taylor, Josip Jurnavic and Anthony Ralston have all done well. The other issue is that even when you predict what Ange’s teams are going to do it’s hard to stop them putting it into practice.”
A lot of arrivals have won plaudits at Celts but Postecoglou also got the best out of those already there.
Captain Callum McGregor has been revitalised as has Ralston, while Tom Rogic and Nir Bitton played their part as Celtic did the double.
McGarry, who has recently stepped down as Perth Glory assistant, said: “Ange is doing two jobs; recruiting and developing existing players.
“He’ll not only be improving their fitness but footballing IQ. Ralston is an example; he would have been on the periphery of the squad but is now a regular and in the Scotland side.
"Under Ange, he looks fitter, stronger, confident and an intelligent footballer who the manager is getting the most out of. He’s excelled and that’s what Ange does. That’s a sign of a good manager.”
