I’m more worried about being an...
But old-school Ange happy to bring in new age data gurus to help win title
ANGE POSTECOGLOU admits he doesn’t know his Xg from his XL clobber but the old-school Celtic boss is still determined to make sure his side are fit for purpose in the modern game.
It’s not just the first-team squad the Aussie has been rebuilding at Parkhead as he’s quietly assembling backroom staff as well in a bid to get back on top in Scotland.
Postecoglou has stuck with the existing coaching team in the dugout but he’s added a few new faces behind the scenes with ex-Benfica analyst Antoine Ortega the latest to check in.
The French numbers guru has a Masters degree in data science and has set up his own stats companies in football and basketball in the NBA.
Ortega will study opponents and help on the recruitment side, turning data on things such as expected goals – Xg to the hipsters – into English for the gaffer.
Postecoglou reckons he’s a top signing – even if some of the stuff is mumbo jumbo to him.
The Hoops manager said: “Xg? The one that gets me is XL because that’s all my clothes.
“I’ve got no idea either, mate, that’s why I’ve brought Antoine in! The analytics thing is well beyond me. I went through my schooling with a pen and paper.
“But that’s where the future of a lot of scouting and player identification is going.
“These young guys are much better skilled at and schooled in getting the right information, then filtering it and putting it in a form you and I can understand.
“It’s a massive growth area in football and we’re always looking for bright people who can come in and help us in those areas.
“Antoine has already started and there is a lot going on, stuff that doesn’t affect us in the short-term so much but is still important to what we want to build.
“All that stuff runs concurrently, while the main focus and priority is the game ahead of us, building a team to have success this year.
“It doesn’t stop there. There is other stuff needing to be done around the club, which I said we were going to do.
“We had to take our time, find the right people, create an environment that gives us success for many years to come, not just in the short-term.
“We’ll continue to make appointments and bring in people we think will help that.
“Antoine is one, we’ve also brought in Stuart McLaren as 18s coach, someone I know well.
“All these decisions hopefully create a good foundation for us moving forward.”
Ortega is just another piece in the jigsaw for Postecoglou but there are plenty of gaps yet to fill.
The former Socceroos boss has been a bit of a one-man band since he landed in Scotland with Celtic swithering over a director of football or recruitment chief.
Postecoglou isn’t too fussed though. He’s drafted in several players he knows personally and has formed a solid working partnership with new chief executive Michael Nicholson.
He said: “It doesn’t just seem to be working – it is working. Things don’t get done unless people are working effectively. I’m not just trying to paint a rosy picture here.
“I was working with Michael on transfers in the summer when he was very involved.
“The key thing for me is the club are supporting my vision for the club and as a manager that’s what you need.
“I’m the one responsibility lies with in the football department. The buck stops with me.
“My best chance of success is if the club supports my vision and that’s what the club is doing.
“Michael has been very good about making sure the plans I want to put in place are slowly getting there. It’s not a shortterm thing. We want to build a strong foundation for the club on and off the field.
“For that to happen there is no chance I can do it on my own. I need good people around me and Michael leads that.”
Postecoglou reckons Nicholson being on the same page is vital to his Celtic revolution.
He said: “It’s an important relationship because I don’t have the money to do it. My bank account is nowhere near big enough to do the business I’ve been doing!
“Like every manager, we don’t work in isolation. We are part of
a bigger organisation. It’s not just Michael, it’s the whole club.
“It needs to generate revenue and funds, our supporters are important for me to do the work I do. I have good relationships with all departments because we are all one.
“It’s not separate entities that just come together on a match day. We are all working together for the same goal.”
The immediate goal is to get back to business with a bang on Monday when the Premiership resumes with the visit of Hibs after a rollercoaster first half of the season that’s already delivered the League Cup.
Postecoglou added: “The first six months, if nothing else, has shown progress for us. Are we where we want to be? No! As I want us to be stronger than we are at the moment. But from where we started and where we ended up, there was progress.
“It’s been an entertaining six months for everyone. Hopefully moving forward we continue our progress. The most important thing is we vindicate the support I’ve had and the team have had.”