A former Celtic star has revealed how Ange Postecoglou helped him adapt his style - and just how the ex-Hoops boss blew him away with his philosophy.
Joe Hart experienced two highly-successful seasons under Postecoglou before the 59-year-old left for Tottenham Hotspur and was replaced by Brendan Rodgers.
Hart has played under some of the best known coaches in football throughput his decorated career, yet it was his time at Celtic where he feels he learned the most.
Speaking about the Greek-Aussie on BBC 5 Live, Hart, who retired over the summer, recalled: "I'll be honest, I feel so lucky I played these last three years. My last three manager's in England; David Moyes, Sean Dyche, and Jose Mourinho. All top, top managers in their own right, and they've done incredible things.
Read more:
- Rose's frustration: Leipzig must learn from defeat before Celtic trip
- Could Maeda be more humble in wake of stunning hat-trick win?
"But they are very much hard work, dedication, learning what you need to do and going out and performing.
"Then I went and had three years at Celtic, two of them with Ange Postecoglou and one of them with Brendan Rodgers. And Ange Postecoglou blew my mind because he really opened me up.
"I actually think I'd be sat here having this conversation and not being able to understand [Enzo] Maresca and what his thought process is, if I hadn't experienced what I did in terms of that specific detail.
"I always thought play out from the back, oh my god, does that mean that I need to do Cruyff turns, pick passes. No it doesn't. It means that I need to stand on the ball, I need to make sure that my centre-halves are either side of me, my six is showing, and then if the space is being created, I'm not playing out for the sake of playing out, I'm playing out to score.
"If that full press comes and all I see is opposition players stood next to mine, I'm giving that clarity in my mind that there's a little dinked ball into the striker's chest.
"And all these sort of things come together, it's a totally different game and a totally different thought process. Like I say, I feel truly blessed because I honestly would feel out of my depth if I'd sat in here three years ago trying to have this conversation with you."
