Harry Kewell admits he knew that Celtic was the right move for him after just one phone call with Ange Postecoglou after arriving as first-team coach.
The Hoops boss managed to convince his fellow Aussie after speaking to him just the once, despite the coach already having an offer on the table at another club. The 43-year-old has arrived as Postecoglou bolsters his back-room staff ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, with Stephen McManus taking on a role with the Celtic Colt team in the Lowland League.
Kewell’s admission sounds pretty familiar, though. Matt O'Riley, Joe Hart and new goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist have all insisted it was Ange's powers of persuasion that saw them put pen to paper and make their way to Glasgow's east end. The Champions League winner and former Oldham boss also said that joining the Premiership title holders was a 'no brainer', stating that he has already been 'blown away' by the club.
Speaking to Celtic TV, the Aussie lifted the lid on his path to Parkhead. He said: “I was actually going in for another interview for another job, I thought it went really well. I was looking forward to the call back. And in-between that time I actually had a call from the manager.
"The way he spoke to me, the way he spoke to me, the way he presented the job, I said yes straight away. I didn’t even worry about the next part. I felt it was the opportunity for me to learn from not only an Australian manager, but a great manager that has started to do his work in Europe."
The Aussie is no stranger to the Champions League stage. He helped Leeds to the semi final in the 2000/01 campaign before becoming the only Australian to ever win the competition during his spell at Liverpool.
Speaking about his new side's upcoming group stage involvement in the competition, Kewell said: “They are special. I don’t think people can understand what it is like until you’ve been there. You can have that taste, once you do have that taste you want more.
“You are competing against the best teams in the world and you have to be at your very best to get far in the competition and you have to have that little element of luck as well. It is going to be tough, but the way that the manager has got his team playing I think they are going to be a handful.”
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