Scott Brown reckons Ange Postecoglou’s “exceptional” recruitment has been the driving force behind Celtic setting themselves up for back-to-back titles and a Treble shot.
The Hoops boss has scoured the globe to revolutionise the Parkhead dressing room in his 20 months in charge, taking over a side that had finished the season trophyless and leading them to a league and cup double in his first campaign. Celtic are now looking to go one better with a nine-point Premiership lead, a Scottish Cup semi final against Rangers in the diary and the League Cup already in the bag.
Former skipper Brown, who brought his own 14-year spell in the east end of Glasgow to an end a month before Postecoglou arrived, reckons the Aussie’s success in the transfer market has been a massive factor. Only two players from Brown’s time - captain Callum McGregor and Greg Taylor - are regulars in Postecoglou’s side now.
Raids on the previously untapped Asian market where Postecoglou had been recruited from J-League Yokohama Marinos yielded key figures including Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and more recently Oh Hyeon-gyu.
Closer to home Joe Hart, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Matt O’Riley have played huge roles while European recruits Jota, Carl Starfelt and Liel Abada have been success stories as have Aaron Mooy, Sead Haksabanovic and Alistair Johnston.
And Brown said: “His recruitment has been exceptional. There’s been a lot of British people coming to the club from England as well. But he’s got great recruitment.
“I know he was over in Japan for a time and he would have seen and understood what they are like. You can see how well the players that have come over and bought into his understanding of the way he wants to play football and the way the club is as well.”
Brown was back in Glasgow to promote an evening he is hosting alongside Mikael Lustig to say a proper goodbye to Celtic supporters after the Covid pandemic robbed them of that opportunity. Sweden international Lustig became a smash hit with the Hoops faithful in a seven-year stint after signing for Neil Lennon in 2012.
Brown admits he had doubts about the full-back the moment he set eyes on him, likening him to a tattoo-covered rake. But he became a key character for Lennon, Ronny Deila and Brendan Rodgers - on and off the park.
Recalling his first glimpse of Lustig, Brown laughed: “The first time I laid eyes on him I was thinking: ‘Who’s this guy?’. Tattoos everywhere, his hair’s long and frizzy, he’s built like the side of a rake.
“But you couldn’t have met a nicer man or a better character in that dressing room. He’s a fantastic footballer as well, merging into so many different positions.
“I know he was a right-back, but he could play centre-half. When Kieran Tierney went high up the park, he became the third centre-back.
“He was composed on the ball, had the drive to go forward and scored a fair amount of goals. He had some great celebrations.”
None more iconic than when he almost found himself on the wrong side of the law by stealing a policeman’s hat as he joined in goal celebrations in a 5-0 rout of Rangers at Parkhead in April 2018.
Brown said: “It made his hair look a lot better! At the time, I didn’t actually see it because he’s just stole it off the copper’s head and put it on.
“It wasn’t until everyone starts showing clips on Twitter and we see it back on the video. The guy is amazing, honestly, I’ve got so much love for him.”
A Night with Scott Brown and Mikael Lustig will be held at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow on Thursday, May 18, with proceeds to go to the Celtic Foundation.
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