What a difference a year makes.
It’s 365 days exactly since Ange Postecoglou was appointed Celtic boss.
And who would’ve predicted then that the Aussie would be sitting with cup and league winners medals in his pocket, preparing for the group stages of the Champions League.
Postecoglou, frankly, inherited a mess at Parkhead.
Granted, it’s a mess a number of other Premiership clubs wouldn’t have minded being in. Celtic were still Celtic after all.
But an unsuccessful pursuit of Eddie Howe left the board scrambling for a back-up to shape a squad that simply wasn’t ready then to reclaim the title following the disaster that was the ten-in-a-row season.
Despite a sticky start, Postecoglou got them ready and they’ve barely looked back.
As with any change in the dugout, some players will benefit while others will find themselves looking for an escape route.
Record Sport looks at the winners and losers after a full year of Angeball.
Anthony Ralston (Winner)
Somewhat cruelly nicknamed “The Brickie” by a number of fans, Ralston looked odds on to leave Celtic after Postecoglou arrived last summer.
Appearances under Neil Lennon had been few and far between and his prospects didn’t appear to improve after Josip Juranovic was signed from Legia Warsaw.
But Ralston has undergone what the kids refer to as a ‘glow up’ and enjoyed the best year of his career so far.
The right back made 47 appearances in all competitions, scoring five goals. Most notable was a 97th minute winner away to Ross County with Celtic down to ten men that kept the title charge firmly on track.
A new four-year deal in November was Ralston’s reward.
He wasn’t done at the end of the domestic season either, scoring on his Scotland debut against Armenia on Wednesday with a Man of the Match display in a 2-0 win.
The improvement in his game has been there for all to see, but perhaps needed a change of style and approach from a new boss to happen.
Joe Hart
On paper, an England international ‘keeper with 75 caps to his name would seem like a winner already.
But Joe Hart’s reputation had taken a serious hit in recent years.
High profile blunders for his country weren’t masked by his weird habit of shouting at everyone nor any amount of ‘fronting up’ to cameras after tournament exits.
Struggling for gametime at Burnley, he moved to Tottenham as back up to Hugo Lloris and looked established in the Steve Harper school of second choice goalkeepers for the remainder of his career.
But Celtic handled their goalkeeping situation about as well as Vasilis Barkas has the ball the previous summer.
Craig Gordon was less than impressed with on offer to stay on reduced terms while £5million for Barkas will go down as one of the biggest transfer blunders in recent years.
Spending £1m on Hart to sign him on a three-year deal was questioned at first, but the former Manchester City man has rediscovered his mojo in Glasgow, keeping 16 clean sheets in 54 games.
Only Gordon’s super-human performances for Hearts outshone him last season.
And it's somewhat ironic that Fraser Forster has since filled his seat on Spurs’ bench given the Hoops had been trying to bring the big Geordie back for another spell before moving on Hart.
Carl Starfelt
A prime example of not judging a signing too quickly.
A Postecoglou addition that didn’t hit the ground running. Thrown in for his debut against Hearts on the opening day, the Swede struggled as the Celtic slipped to an opening day defeat.
Regular errors occurred as he looked out of his depth early on.
Slowly but surely however, he struck up an understanding alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers in the heart of defence and the pair have developed into arguably the strongest centre back pairing in the league, with the ridicule Starfelt faced now a distant memory.
Albian Ajeti
Another big money Neil Lennon signing that has proved money poorly spent.
It was a case of needs must when Postecoglou arrived, although naming the Swiss captain for a pre-season friendly against Sheffield Wednesday suggested there was a way back for the ex-West ham striker.
He scored the first goal of the Aussie’s reign in that game and was making positive noises about his prospects under the new gaffer.
But a year on, Ajeti has just three goals to his name from 17 appearances, the majority of those coming off the bench.
Kyogo Furuhashi’s blistering early form forced him into a watching brief, while the subsequent arrivals of Giorgos Giakoumakis and Daizen maeda forced him further down the pecking order.
After losing his place in the Switzerland squad, a summer exit now seems inevitable.
Liam Scales
The young Irish defender was brought in by Postecolgou and started his Celtic career well, netting in his league debut.
It looked as if he was being drop fed into life at Celtic with an eye on the future.
But now a move to Aberdeen could be on the cards, but may depend on more established stars returning from injury.
Postecoglou is in the market for another left back to challenge Greg Taylor and Hammarby man Mohanad Jeahze has been heavily linked.
That suggests that Scales will have to look elsewhere for first team opportunities, although writing off his Celtic career at the moment could be premature.
James McCarthy
Eyebrows were raised when the former Hamilton, Everton and Wigan midfielder was handed a three-year deal last August.
They got even higher when the 30-year-old adopted a bizarre accent during his unveiling press conference.
Fitness was always going be an issue with McCarthy - namely whether he had sufficient levels to feature regularly.
Just 22 appearances has shown he didn't, and with a number of central midfielders being looked at for next season, it appears that Postecoglou isn't planning on relying too heavily on the Ireland international.
