Ange to decide who’s his skipper
New Celtic boss, Ange Postecoglou, has pledged to give Callum Mcgregor a crack at persuading him he should be the club captain.
Mcgregor, who has worn the armband for the Hoops on numerous occasions as a stand-in for Scott Brown, has stated he wants the role, now that his friend has moved to Aberdeen.
And while stopping short of saying he will be granted his wish, the Greek-born Australian made it clear he appreciates his claims.
“With Scott – who was a tremendous influence on and off the field – gone, there is a vacuum,” said Postecoglou.
“It’s often difficult when you have such a powerful figure in place.
“Others maybe don’t feel comfortable expressing themselves, as much out of respect more than anything else.
“With my arrival, things will change in the way we train, and some of the values we put across.
“If there’s somebody within the club – and my instincts are it will be from within the club – that someone will step up.
“Callum Mcgregor is certainly one I will sit down and chat to. He has a great history at Celtic.
“I have only had limited experience of him, but I watched him live at the Euros and thought he had a tremendous tournament, irrespective of his goal against Croatia.
“I think he will come back really motivated, and really wanting to take this club up.
“He is definitely one of the people I will be looking to for leadership, irrespective of whether he is captain or not.”
As much as Postecoglou cut a confident figure at Friday’s introduction to the media, he was generally careful not to ruffle any feathers.
Asked about the issue of players running down their contracts – with Ryan Christie set to leave on a cut-price transfer – he was diplomacy personified.
“It’s very difficult for me to talk about what has happened before,” said the 55-year-old.
“I have been reticent because I know how difficult a job it is to be manager of any football club.
“What I have said, and will continue to say, is that I will protect the club’s interests.
“If that means players will have to depart, they will depart. If that means they stay, they will stay.”
Does that then mean he is not ruling out the possibility of Celtic’s want-away pair – Odsonne Edouard and Kris Ajer – sticking around?
Even when their departures could raise some £25-million-plus for the club, and considerably boost the new man’s budget for new signings.
“Why should I when I have not had a discussion with them?” the Hoops boss responded. “I am going to make those decisions myself, on what I see and assess. In my position, I have multitudes of people giving me advice and opinions. But, at the end of the day, I am the one responsible.
“In those circumstances, I am going to make sure that I am the one who makes the decisions
“And it’s a two-way conversation. It is not just me and what I desire.
“Whether it’s Edouard or whoever, what they decide could be at cross-purposes. “My feeling is that whatever dreams and aspirations the players may have, I think they can accomplish them here.
“I will have that discussion with all the players. Hopefully, they see some synergy there, and they want to be involved. “Because whoever does stay, I want to guarantee they will be part of something special.”
Postecoglou’s accent is from the other side of the globe, but the message is reminiscent of one of his most successful predecessors, Brendan Rodgers.
The Leicester City boss was a cheerleader for Postecoglou in the wake of the appointment, and it was no great surprise to hear the new Hoops boss admit he will jump at the chance to take him as an ally. “Brendan has been very kind. He was one of the first to reach out to me, and send a nice message,” said Postecoglou.
“I crossed his path a couple of times, first when he was Liverpool manager and we played against him. And when I was national team manager, he invited me to Melbourne. “He has had a fantastic managerial career, following, I guess, an unusual path, having not been a great player. “He is somebody who, when things settle, I will have a chat to because he had a fantastic experience here.
“And the one thing he did say was that it will be the most memorable period of your life.” That much looks guaranteed.