The serial Thrillers
Football fans binge on a season same way they binge on TV shows.. they don’t want to wait.. one bad result and it’s over, one good result & it’s done SAYS ANGE POSTECOGLOU
ANGE POSTECOGLOU reckons Scottish football is like a TV box set with punters desperate to tune in for the next episode.
It now looks like Succession when it comes to the drama across at Ibrox but the big Aussie has had to rattle through a series of DIY SOS since his arrival in the summer.
Postecoglou is happy to build at his pace, though, and believes his Celtic story is starting to take shape.
The October manager of the month award proves the critics are on board but while he might be cast in the main character role, the former Socceroos boss is adamant it’s more of an ensemble cast at Parkhead.
There were some grumbles in his early days when he wanted to keep the existing backroom team on board, even if for the short time while he learned his lines.
But Postecoglou has watched these characters grow and was determined to get his coaches into the picture when presented with his gong yesterday.
The 56-year-old has quickly gelled with John Kennedy, Gavin Strachan, Stevie Woods as well as Stephen McManus and he wants them to have starring roles in the next thrilling instalment of Celtic’s season.
Postecoglou smiled and said: “It’s like how we watch TV these days. People binge a series because we don’t want to wait a week for another episode.
“I have felt like people wanted to binge this season too.
“One bad result and it’s over. One good result and it’s done...”
The bigger picture is becoming clearer, though, with Celtic’s narrative shifting in recent weeks.
A run of seven wins in eight – including crucial away days at Aberdeen, Hibs and Ferencvaros – has got everyone’s attention.
Postecoglou takes the plaudits but credits his colleagues.
The manager said: “It’s working well and that’s why I wanted the guys in the photo. Unfortunately Gavin couldn’t make it.
“But they’ve been hugely important to me and what we want to build.
“There are the rest of the staff, the sports science team and the analysts – I’ve enjoyed working with them. I know people have been a little bit anxious about my well-being, coming in on my own without a crew of people to support me.
“But I have never felt the need for that and I have enjoyed working with this group of people.
“I love the fact they want to embrace the direction we want to take the team in. That sort of stuff energises me.”
The script was written early on with Celtic as swashbuckling attackers but dodgy defenders.
It’s a storyline that has stuck but
it isn’t entirely true. Celtic are the top scorers in Scotland but also have the meanest defence.
Postecoglou said: “I feel we have been pretty consistent all along.
“There have been games, in Europe especially, where we have conceded goals and there are others where we haven’t created as much as we’d like.
“But overall I have seen progress in those areas and I look at the key indicators. Are we playing our football? Are we scoring goals?
“Are we taking chances and stopping the opposition from creating them? When those things stack up, even if you have one or two bad results, you know that over the course of time these things will even themselves out and results will follow.
“This is a good sign of our progress but we also need to keep at it. I still think there is more to come.”
Postecoglou cut a relaxed figure at Lennoxtown, which was understandable with the international break giving him a rare minute or two to catch his breath.
But he’s already plotting for the next big episode on the horizon, the one where Celtic go to Hampden. The Hoops face St Johnstone in a League Cup semi-final in nine days’ time and the boss knows his club belong on the big stage. Postecoglou said: “There is no doubt that this club has a history and tradition of success. “People will say, ‘Oh you are expected to win every week’ but I don’t buy that. Nobody measures up to that. Not even the greatest managers win every game. “But what is expected of you at a club like Celtic is that you bring success. “Any opportunity we have to do that, whether it’s in the third or fourth month of my tenure or hopefully the 10th year, that can never be diminished. “We have an opportunity to get to a final and we don’t want to pass up the opportunity.”
We have been pretty consistent but there’s still more to come