‘I thought title was mission impossible for Postecoglou’
CHRIS SUTTON concedes he thought it was mission impossible for Ange Postecoglou to deliver the Premiership title when he joined Celtic last summer.
The Greek-Australian arrived at a club in disarray after finishing 25 points behind Rangers the previous season, but he has transformed the club’s fortunes following a huge squad overhaul.
Celtic took the chequered flag with a 1-1 draw at Dundee United on Wednesday and former Parkhead striker Sutton admits he has been blown away by the impact the manager has had. Sutton said: “The fact Ange in truth was Australian and had managed in Australia, with the national team as well, and then in the J-league, there were a lot of sceptics out there.
“Celtic is a massive, massive football club and all the talk in the weeks and months before was that Eddie Howe was getting the job. Then you look back to what a debacle last season was for Celtic, going for 10 in a row, just falling apart. In truth, honestly, I did not give Ange Postecoglou a chance of winning the league this season, the magnitude of the job was so great, the squad overhaul.
“I thought it was impossible. When he was brought in, they were so far behind in terms of recruitment and the pre-season was a total mess. He came into an absolute mess. He has turned things around so quickly in such a short period of time.
“I think he has proved a fair few people wrong.”
And Sutton firmly believes the Parkhead manager could cut it at the highest level.
Sutton, speaking to The GegenPod Football Podcast, added: “Yeah, absolutely [I can see him managing in the Premier League]. I don’t get the argument that he can’t manage in the Premier League.
“His track record speaks for itself and I think people would have sat up and noticed the job he has done at Celtic.”