Kris Commons has backed Ange Postecoglou for a decade of Celtic success after his second Viaplay Cup final triumph.
That makes it three trophies for the Aussie in roughly a season-and-a-half in charge at Parkhead, following success in the same competition last season and the league title he wrestled back from Rangers. Another is extremely likely to follow this year given the Hoops enjoy a nine point cushion over Rangers at the top of the table. There’s also the Scottish Cup up for grabs and despite a tricky trip to Tynecastle in the quarters, few would bet against Celtic bagging a treble this term.
Commons noted a lot of talking coming from Ibrox before Sunday’s final, notably from Fashion Sakala. There was also the previous week’s banner at Livingston having a go at Michael Beale’s decision to allow Partick Thistle to equalise after a controversial Malik Tillman goal as the Jags attempted to return possession.
The Celtic fans responded with one of their own at full-time: “22 trophies in 11 years, we set the standard.” Commons can’t see that dominance being broken while Postecoglou remains in charge, and cited the break up of the legendary Chicago Bulls team as an example of how what the Hoops boss is doing isn't easy.
He wrote in his Daily Mail column: “'Lucky Ange' got it right again and yet another trophy is on its way back to the cabinet at Parkhead.
“A lot of CEOs and chairmen will be looking at Postecoglou right now. His value is going up and up but, what he's got with this squad, he will feel he can achieve something special at Celtic. The grass is not always greener, I swear. There's nowhere like Glasgow when you are doing well and I'd be extremely surprised if he was even contemplating his future.
“He will see his future at Celtic Park unless he gets to the stage where he wins Treble after Treble after Treble and he gets to the last 16 of the Champions League and feels he's hit a glass ceiling.
“Right now, there's still plenty for him to achieve. It's all there for him at Celtic Park. The intensity is there, the support is there, the infrastructure, too. The better Celtic become, the more money they will have to spend on their squad.
“And, the more they spend on the squad, the better they will become. They could be looking at another decade of dominance.
“The good thing about Postecoglou is the demands he makes on his players. This is not holiday time. It's not time to put the feet up. It's time to kick on again. There are more improvements to be made and training will be intense.
“Postecoglou has set the standards and raised the bar. Celtic will be wanting to blow Rangers out of the park for the next decade, just like they did for the past ten years. It's exciting times for the club and its supporters.
“What Ange has done over such a short period of time has been just remarkable. He's completely overhauled the squad with players that people would never have heard of before, but they have hit the ground running.
“The recruitment side of things from Postecoglou and his team has been great and to put it all together on the park in such a short period of time and deliver the three trophies he has delivered so far is just incredible. To put it into context, in the 1990s the Chicago Bulls won six out of eight NBA titles with players like Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen. Jordan said: 'Let's all stay for seven' but the Bulls didn't want to renew contracts and the stars all ended up moving on.
“They decided a complete rebuild was needed but that sixth championship in 1998 was the last time they won the NBA. It just shows you that it isn't easy to completely rebuild a team. Even if Postecoglou with his latest piece of silverware has a knack of making it look so easy.”
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