Much has been written about Ange Postecoglou’s future in Glasgow, as the Greek-Australian leads Celtic into his first Scottish Cup final.
If Inverness are overcome in four days, it would result in a world-record eighth treble for Celtic. It would be the club’s fifth trophy from the six competed for under Ange. Quite an achievement by a manager who many wrote off before he even arrived on Kerrydale Street.
Yet, despite the remarkable historical achievements that are riding on this final, much of the discussion in cup final week is around whether or not Ange will move to the EPL, with the latest supposed suitors being Tottenham Hotspur. Ange himself has stated there has been “nothing cryptic” about his numerous responses to this speculation, while Greg Taylor said there is, “no point getting nervous” about his gaffer’s reported departure.
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Ex-Celts have also waded into the debate, with former defender Alan Stubbs in no doubt that Ange is capable of being a success at the club he has been most recently linked with:
“Ange Postecoglou has been linked with a few jobs in England. It looks like Tottenham is the biggest one on the go right now and I have no doubt that Ange will feel he can do that job.”
However, Stubbs, who picked up Scottish Cup winners’ medals both as a player with Celtic and a manager at Hibs, doesn’t feel that Ange is ready to leave Celtic Park just yet. Speaking to Grosvenor Sport Stubbs had this to say:
“I have a feeling he wants to achieve more at Celtic. Not just this season. He’s got two trophies in the bag and could win the treble.”
“I think he wants another crack at the Champions League. I’m sure he’ll desperately want to improve on what they did this season. It’s the one area he will feel there are big improvements to be made.”
FUTURE CAPTAIN OF ENGLAND
I’ve always been a fan of Stubbs, and it’s refreshing to hear him giving a balanced view on the situation with Ange. I remember when we signed the Scouser in 1996, it was a huge coup for Tommy Burns in the quest to stop the nine.
When Celtic announced the signing of Alan Stubbs to the Stock Market on 10 May 1996, it was reported that the deal was worth £5.5 million, with Bolton confirming that the transfer fee was £3.5 million. The five-year deal was a record outlay for Celtic, with manager Tommy Burns commenting at the time: “I have considered all the top central defenders in the world and Alan Stubbs is the one we wanted. He is among the best in Europe. He reads the game superbly and is an excellent passer. There are few left-sided central defenders to match him.”
Bolton’s relegation worked in Celtic’s favour, but they had to beat a number of English clubs to the 24-year-old’s signature, including Arsenal who were then managed by Stubbsy’s ex-Bolton boss Bruce Rioch.
Self-proclaimed Celtic fan, John McGinlay, described his ex-Bolton team-mate in the Daily Record (11 May 1996) as being, “like Alan Hansen and Terry Butcher rolled into one… It really will be a great signing for Celtic – they’ve just bought the future captain of England.”
And a great signing Stubbs certainly turned out to be. Unfortunate not to win the league under Tommy Burns, he went on to stop the ten with Wim Jansen’s side the following season, before enjoying further success under Martin O’Neill.
I completely agree with big Stubbsy on this one. Although Ange has been choosing his words carefully (doesn’t he always?) on the subject of Spurs, I feel that he’s doing this for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, we have a treble to win. Surely the pundits who are constantly clutching at straws can appreciate that Ange has to remain focused on the job at hand? And secondly, the club may well have an announcement of their own to make on Ange, and they won’t want the gaffer to let the cat out the bag, Adidas-style.
BOBBY GORDON
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