Ange Postecoglou has vowed to keep coming out of transfer windows with a stronger Celtic squad.
The Hoops gaffer - who was named PFA Scotland Manager of the Year - is on the verge of winning a domestic Treble with just Inverness standing in his way at Hampden. The League Cup and Scottish Premiership are already in the bag with the Scottish Cup the final piece of the jigsaw as he bids to land the famous old trophy he missed out on last term.
Celtic's domestic dominance has also earned another crack at the Champions League proper next season and the 57-year-old knows success on the park means it is more likely some of his key players will move on due to attention from other clubs arriving. He knows he has to be ready to fill the gaps if anyone leaves with players who can take the Hoops up another gear.
In January he lost Giorgos Giakoumakis and Josip Juranovic but Alistair Johnston - a World Cup star with Canada - and Oh Hyeon-gyu arrived to replace the departing duo. Celtic's success in the transfer market under the Aussie boss has received wide-spread appreciation and the Parkhead boss will once again have a hands on approach to any new arrivals.
He said: “I think it’s fair to say we are in the second year and things are embedded, that includes the core playing group.
“But that also gives you the opportunity to grow as a team. Part of that challenge will be the more success you have the more likely it will be that some of your players will move on.
"They get the attention of other clubs. We have to be ready to fill those gaps with players who have the ability to take us to another level altogether. So there is always those challenges there.
“Another year you get to the point where there is any great certainty about the team we are finishing with and the team we will be starting the new season with.
“You always go into any window that there is going to be some uncertainty. Well, I think we are going really well. In every window we have had so far since I have been here we have come out stronger in terms of that squad depth or just having a better quality of player than we had going in and that is what we will try and do.”
He continued: “Look, it’s an important part of my role. I’ve always felt it was an important part of my role, particularly with the nature of the task I had. It wasn’t like I was picking up an established or core group of players. It was a team that needed rebuilding.
“I knew our best chance of being successful with that would be if I had a massive influence over who came into the club, both players and staff. I knew what I wanted, I knew what we needed to look like.
“The club were really good in trusting me with that process. We obviously had success fairly early in terms of our recruiting and I think I gained the trust of people at the club through that.
“Since then, it has worked really well. They have faith the players I identify and bring in are going to enhance our football club.
“I have always found that every year, and I have obviously been doing this for quite a while, there is always a different challenge.
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