Grant: Wizard of OZ worked minor miracle
SUPERSTAR
They may be teetering on the brink of a thi rd European exit of the season – but Peter Grant insists Ange Postecoglou deserves a medal for the biggest squad overhaul in the history of Scottish football.
The Aussie has signed 15 players after inheriting a club in crisis, finishing 25 points behind champions Rangers last season.
Postecoglou faced a massive rebuilding job as 13 first-team players left Parkhead in the summer and ex-Hoops hero Grant insists the gaffer deserves massive credit.
Thursday’s defeat to Bodo/Glimt was a blot on his copybook but going into today’s clash with Dundee, the Hoops are a point ahead of Rangers at the top of the table and in the last eight of the Scottish Cup, with the Premier Sports Cup already in the bag.
Grant said: “He didn’t get off to the best of starts but he never attempted to change his style for a shor t- term gai n . He bel ieved things would come good when he got the right players in and they got used to playing his way
“He’s also the first Celtic manager in a long time – probably since Martin O’Neill – who has the final say on signings and that’s very important.
“He’s old school and you don’t need a director of football when he’s around.
“Ange has put this j i g saw together almost from scratch. When they beat
Rangers
3- 0 at the start of this month, nine of the starting XI were new signings – so were two of the subs.
“You can also add Ben Doak, the 16-year- old he gave a debut to, so this is very much the team that Ange built.
“As a manager you’d happily take it if half of your signings did well but all of the players he’s brought in have done him a turn.”
Some, of course, have done better than others.
Grant added: “Kyogo Furuhashi was an instant star. His movement is exceptional , so is his finishing and he presses from the front, with 90 per cent of his work done in the final third.
“Liel Abada has so many goals and assists that it’s easy to forget he’s still a kid at 20.
“Joe Hart is under-rated and not just for his saves but for his personality – he’s a hu g e inf luence, constantly talking to the guys in front of him and giving them confidence.
“I also love watching Jota because he plays with a swagger. He reminds me of my old team-mate Paolo Di Canio and, like him, he was born to play at Parkhead.
“He’s one of those guys who can galvanise the crowd and the rest of his team-mates.
“And, l ike Paolo, he doesn’t worry if he makes a mistake – he just gets on with trying to make something happen.
“I can’t think of another ma na ger w ho ha s transformed a club and a team so completely in such a short space of time.
“A n g e has signed players who have ignited
the place.”