Following Ange is like having The Stones as a warm-up act
SAYS GORDON STRACHAN
GORDON STRACHAN has compared Brendan Rodgers’ task of replacing Ange Postecoglou at Celtic as headlining a gig with The Rolling Stones as your SUPPORT act.
Postecoglou is making waves south of the border after swapping Parkhead for Tottenham and has been linked with replacing Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
Rodgers is now back in the hotseat and former Hoops boss Strachan said: “Following in the footsteps of Ange isn’t an easy task for any manager.
“It’s like headlining a concert with The Rolling Stones as your support act. All the best trying to follow that... and that’s what it’s like at Celtic at the moment.
“Brendan knew what he was getting into when he came back to Celtic and he wanted that challenge.
“Is the league a little bit more difficult compared to when he was last there? I would argue it might be.
“The one thing I’ve seen over the last few years in the Premiership is teams like St Mirren, Hearts, Hibs, are becoming more physical and are making it more difficult for the likes of Celtic.
“There has been an emphasis on height and strength over the last couple of years and that’s shown by the limited number of homegrown players who are coming through in Scotland.
“The media will ask Brendan why his team aren’t performing as well as we know they can.
“And he’ll give honest answers that are then written as excuses, so management can be a bit of a word game sometimes.
“Brendan can play the media game well – I wouldn’t like to take him on at Scrabble!”
Rangers are hot on the heels of Celtic at the Premiership summit with just three points between the Glasgow rivals.
Philippe Clement’s side have a game in hand, which they play tonight against Ross County with the chance to leapfrog the Hoops if they win by three goals at Ibrox.
Strachan added: “Taking over from a successful manager is always really difficult.
“How do you put your own spin on the job without copying the man who was in the seat before you arrived?
“It’s a horrible prospect for managers to deal with.
“Did people think that Brendan was going to come to Celtic, grow a beard, put on some weight and start talking with an Australian accent? That was never going to work.
“The issue is that Celtic have dominated teams for two years. That is what the fans are missing at the moment. It’s not easy for Brendan or them.”