TAYLOR MADE FOR MY SIDE

Greg has adapted really well to it. He was really strong for us last season and has continued

in the full-back areas. So Bernabei coming in is really good for us as a group. It gives us depth in a key area, in a really important position for us.

“With the way we play, fullback is a real key area and I now have four players there that I have the utmost faith and confidence in.”

Postecoglou, who was a defender himself during his playing days Down Under, raised eyebrows last season when he asked, as Pep Guardiola famously does at Manchester City, his full-backs to invert.

He has been pleased with how Taylor has embraced the new demands on him and with how quickly Bernabei has taken his instructions on board during training at Lennoxtown.

The 56-year-old won numerous honours with

South Melbourne and represented his adopted homeland Australia on four occasions as well.

But he is doubtful that he would have been able to change his game in the way that both of his charges have.

“It’s the most overrated position on the field!” he joked. “That’s why I am trying to eliminate the full-back from the line-up with the way we play!

“Seriously, though, Greg is nothing like me. He is a much better player than I ever was. I was a frustrated left winger and I am much happier seeing him play the way he is. I wasn’t inverted. I just used to just take off down the wing and leave my defensive duties.

“The full-back positions are obviously quite unique in terms of how we play compared to other models. It is just about making sure we provide all the players who play in those areas clarity on the advice we give them.

“All the full-backs at the club, even Bernabei, who has just come in, they have adapted to it very quickly. I think that is because we are very clear for the reason we want them to play that way.”