Paul Lambert insists Ange Postecoglou won’t be seduced by the bright lights of the English Premiership as he can hit the heights at Parkhead.
The Hoops boss is generating interest Down South with EPL Brighton understood to be interested in the Aussie following Graham Potter’s move to Chelsea. Lambert is convinced there’s no chance Postecoglou would consider switching Celtic for the South Coast – as the fans favourite already has a massive job in Scotland.
Serial Celtic winner Lambert said: “I think that talk will go hand in hand with him because of how well he is doing here. But if you are talking about size of clubs they can’t compare with Celtic. There is no comparison. You can compare the leagues without a doubt but the job he has got here is huge, he has got European football here and hopefully the club can go and continue getting Champions League, can continue getting points on the board, can continue qualifying.
“Because that will entice bigger and better players to come if they see the club getting Champions League football. If he keeps doing well here then it will be up to him to make a decision if teams in England or in Europe come for him. But if he manages to maintain the success he’s had here he might not want to leave.”
Lambert insisted Celtic fans better get used to more speculation surrounding Postecoglou as English football heads into the sacking season. Several top jobs could come up in the coming weeks but that doesn’t mean the Aussie will be repeating the shock exit made by Brendan Rodgers when he headed to Leicester City in February 2019.
Lambert has bossed at the top level in England with Norwich, Aston Villa and Stoke City. But he said: “It’s better to be linked with jobs than having fans calling for your head. You’d rather be told you are doing great than folk saying there’s a car waiting for you out the front.
“I think he loves it here. You can go to another club and all of a sudden things don’t work and you are back to square one. At the moment he’s got everything rocking here. Keeping it going is easier said than done.”
Lambert reckon Postecoglou has performed a remarkable job at Celtic since his arrival last summer. The former Socceroos coach managed to secure the title despite facing a total rebuild when he walked through the Parkhead doors.
Lambert can see similarities with his former boss Wim Jansen – who claimed the SPL crown and halted Rangers’ 10-in-a-Row charge against all the odds following a frantic start. The ex-Celtic captain said: "Ange must have a wry smile on his face when you consider some of the stick he got when he first came in.
“I see some parallels with Wim. He lost his first few games and people were saying he had to go. Henrik Larsson got stick after giving the ball away a few times, but he turned out not bad either.
“People without much knowledge were criticising him but Ange is not daft. I’ve met him at training and he’s a good guy with a great way about him. The fans are totally on board with him.”
Meanwhile Celtic are set to head to Poland this week after Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Shakhtar Donetsk was given the green light. The Hoops will have striker Kyogo Furuhashi on board but defender Carl Starfelt is expected to be out until after the international break after suffering a knee injury in the 4-0 hammering of Rangers earlier in the month.
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