Cal has had offers to leave but his heart beats for this club
ANGE EXPECTS COMMITMENT & SKIPPER GIVES IT IN SPADES
HE didn’t come all this way – and end up in Scottish football’s madhouse – for a quiet life.
But even so, Ange Postecoglou can do without some of the noise which comes with the job of managing Celtic.
No dramas. No distractions. Just business. That’s the way the big Aussie likes it.
And it’s why he could hardly see Giorgios Giakoumakis off the premises quickly enough after the Greek and his advisers started throwing their toys out of the pram towards the end of last year.
Postecoglou’s parting shot spoke volumes when asked if Giakoumakis had found himself a new club. “If you’re on Instagram, you’ll probably get the details before me”.
Or words to that effect. And it didn’t need subtitles to work out the manager’s message.
So it’s no wonder Postecoglou has found such a kindred spirit in captain Callum Mcgregor, a player who personifies the same no-fuss allfocus approach to winning football matches. Mcgregor clocked up his 400th game in a Celtic shirt just the other week. It’s hard to recall any time during that period when the Scotland stalwart has uttered a single word out of place.
And the sound of silence was music
to Postecoglou’s ears last week too when another transfer window came and went without the need to have any of those awkward conversations with the man who wears the armband.
He said: “Yeah, that’s probably why I don’t bump him up on a weekly basis! You know, I’m quite happy with that.”
Postecoglou smiled wryly when asked if he was relieved not to have received any calls about his skipper during the January sales.
He said: “A lot of that is down to Callum himself. With a lot of these things it’s often the players themselves who look for opportunities.
I’m sure Cal had opportunities. In fact, I’m definite on that. But the fact is you don’t hear about it and that’s testament to his character.
“Other players in his position would probably advertise the fact they’ve knocked back this club and that club and they’re not interested in going here or there. But that’s not who he is.
“That’s not his character so I wouldn’t take the fact that he doesn’t get talked about like there hasn’t been interest. I can guarantee there would have been from the highest level for Callum. But he’s really proud of the fact he represents this football club.
“He loves his role as captain and he really wants to leave a mark here.
“It’s a credit to him that he continues to do so.”