Jackson Irvine is delighted to be proven right over Ange Postecoglou - and he couldn't stifle a smug grin at his former Australia boss' success in Scotland.
Australia midfielder Irvine was one of the first figures familiar to the Scottish game to come out and predict Postecoglou would be a smash hit at Celtic. A former Parkhead midfielder himself, he was in the unique position of having sampled both camps and he knew right away he'd be a success.
Postecoglou was treated with skepticism at best, derision at worst when he first emerged as the plan B after talks with Eddie Howe collapsed. But 18 months on he's bowled over everyone who doubted him with two trophies in the bank and a commanding lead at the top of the Premiership more than halfway through his second season. Irvine, who came through the ranks at Parkhead and later featured for Hibs and Ross County before moving onto St Pauli where he is currently the skipper, wasn't shy to put his neck on the line right from the start.
And speaking to the Celtic View, he had a message for the doubters who took his opinions with a pinch of salt. He said: "It's so funny how (opinion) turns.
"Obviously, I spoke about Ange literally a couple of weeks before he got the job and straight away people started referring back to that clip when he started getting linked to the job. I was getting a hard time off people being like 'Oh if Jackson Irvine says he's good, he must be great...Who the hell is this guy?'
"He's come in and done unbelievably well. Everyone he's ever worked with and knows what he's about knew it was a recipe for success. I'm delighted to see how well he's done and the transformation of the team in such a short space of time has been very impressive to watch."
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