Charlie Nicholas reckons Ange Postecoglou's "modest" Celtic spend makes him their best boss since Jock Stein.
The Aussie is set to be confirmed as Tottenham's news manager after two years of almost non-stop success in Glasgow's East End, delivering five of the six domestic trophies available to him, in a style that had fans swooning. His departure is a blow, but not the perceived betrayal of which potential successor Brendan Rodgers was accused.
He's achieved what Rodgers and Martin O'Neill also did with the domestic clean sweep that was sealed with a 3-1 Scottish Cup Final win over Inverness CT at Hampden last Saturday. But Nicholas puts the Ange version above the other two based on spending less than O'Neill (in relative terms), who inherited a Celtic scoring legend, and the fact that Rodgers had no Rangers to contend with given they were still on their "journey" for part of his tenure.
He wrote in his Daily Express column: "Ange Postecoglou will leave as Celtic's greatest modern-day manager. Some fans might argue that Martin O'Neill or Brendan Rodgers deserves that label, but not me.
"O'Neill delivered success at the start of the century with three league titles, three Scottish Cups and one League Cup, but he was given a fortune to spend on players. Chris Sutton, John Hartson, Neil Lennon and Joos Valgaeren cost more than £20million in combined transfer fees, and he had also inherited top talents such as Henrik Larsson and Paul Lambert.
"Rodgers won seven straight trophies from 2016 to 2018, including an unbeaten 'Invincible' debut season and back-to-back trebles. But in reality there was competition as Rangers had just returned to the top flight four years in the lower-league wilderness.
"I know you still have to beat what is in front of you, but it was a lot easier to dominate and play the way he did. Rodgers' achievements were great but the job Postecoglou has done in turning things around at Celtic in just two years is even bigger.
"He arrived at an empty shell of a club that was in a mess following the departures of Neil Lennon and Peter Lawwell. He had to rebuild and earn respect. Postecoglou changed it all within a modest budget. He brought in relatively inexpensive signings, made them better and injected real value into the Celtic squad.
"Callum McGregor and Greg Taylor are the only players he inherited who still get a regular game. Postecoglou delivered five trophies out of six, and his team always played with energy and excitement.
"He has given Parkhead supporters an unbelievable, thrilling two years. I'll be sorry to see him go to Tottenham but he deserves this move to a Premier League giant. He has had a hidden agenda on front.
"The Aussie didn't stand in the way when his players wanted to move on to bigger things - such as Josip Juranovic's move to the Bundesliga - so it shouldn't be a surprise that Postecoglou would do the when the opportunity arose.
"Watching his Celtic teams play gave me a feeling of hope.That was so important against Europe's elite last year because how do you know if you can compete against the best if you don't have a go?
"I would have loved to see him take another crack at the Champions League with Celtic, but it isn't to be. He has left a great legacy and very solid foundations for his successor, who will take over a club and a squad in good health. If things don't work out down south for Postecoglou, I wouldn't hesitate to welcome him back to Parkhead."
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