In Ange Postecoglou, Celtic hired a manager who afforded them a crucial edge. At a time when the playing squad required an overhaul, Postecoglou’s knowledge of the Japanese market meant he could kickstart a Celtic revival with affordable individuals he knew could have a significant impact in Scotland.
The weakness of Scotland’s top flight helped in this sense – Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi would not have the same influence in a stronger league – but Postecoglou knew he was not gambling. On Sunday a League Cup final between the Old Firm at Hampden Park affords the Australian the chance to secure his third major Scottish honour from a possible four.
Postecoglou will relish this opportunity to reassert Celtic’s status as the dominant force. Impressive results under Michael Beale have returned the swagger to a Rangers side who were humiliated in the Champions League and left a distant second in Scotland’s Premiership under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Beale can talk the talk – and plenty of it – but this fixture offers the first test of whether Rangers in their present guise can be a match for Postecoglou’s team when it really counts. Given Celtic’s consistency, doubts remain on that front.
Beale’s assertion that Postecoglou was “lucky” to be afforded a certain level of spending clearly irked the Celtic manager. Strangely enough, Beale does not play the resource card when his own players face St Johnstone or Ross County.
Celtic’s knack for continually trading players at decent profit – even during times of on-field difficulty – allowed Postecoglou to fund his rebuild. Rangers, meanwhile, are keen to bestow further and lucrative contracts on underachievers Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent. James Tavernier, who has collected two major honours since arriving at Ibrox in 2015, was last week inducted into the club’s hall of fame.
This at a club that continually assert they are built on success. Beale was unfairly criticised by a section of his club’s support for the fine act of sportsmanship which allowed Partick Thistle to score an uncontested goal in a recent Scottish Cup tie but the adjoining message from the stands, relating to a dismal trophy return, was salient. This is not entirely the fault of Beale, who was hired only in November, but there comes a point when Rangers have to demonstrate they can break Celtic’s silverware spell.
The approaches of Beale and Postecoglou are intriguingly different. The former is new age in respect of lavishing praise on players and emphasising the strength of his relationships with them. Postecoglou maintains distance between himself and his squad, while harbouring no fear over criticising them in public.
Celtic’s greater strength in depth renders Postecoglou’s style easier to implement, of course. Celtic buy to improve, with their manager paying only lip service to the development of players from within the club’s academy system. It is to Beale’s credit that he appears willing to give youth a chance.
The more discerning members of the Celtic support understand their club should be looking at a world beyond Scotland. Postecoglou, too, would benefit from establishing his team as a credible force in European competition. Yet in the present, there is meaning in trying to puncture obvious optimism around Rangers.
Victory for Rangers over Celtic in the semi-finals of last season’s Scottish Cup serves as a warning to Glasgow’s green half. Whether Rangers should win this final is a matter for debate; at the very least, they can.
The Rangers forward Fashion Sakala, who not so long ago knew as much about the Glasgow derby as he did the complete poetical works of Edgar Allan Poe, added further spice to proceedings by referring to Celtic as “the other mob”. Sakala breathlessly added: “Yes, we are better than them. So much better.”
A league deficit of nine points and 26 goals strongly contradicts Sakala’s giddy analysis. His sentiment is rather typical of the noise emanating from Ibrox. Taking delivery of the first trophy of the season would seriously add to the feeling of rejuvenation under Beale. Should Celtic defend the cup, Postecoglou will inevitably garner added pleasure from popping the Rangers bubble.
