Quotes
“Ange Postecoglou will be either probably the best manager in Celtic history, or they’ll turf him out after 3 months. Literally no in between.”
Vince Rugairi Australian SMH paper (May 2021)
“Ange is a purist, rather than a pragmatist. He loathed the fact that Australia had qualified for World Cups off the back of throwing 11 men behind the ball, because once we got there we’d get soundly beaten regardless.
Aussie based football analyst Mike Wise @wisey_9 on Ange Postecoglou (Jun 2021)
“Ange to Celtic is for me the best story in Australian sport. Will be for pretty much as long as he’s there. First Old Firm derby (sic!) is going to be massive. Feel like a lot of people (non-football types) don’t have a proper grasp right now.”
Vince Rugairi (SMH Aussie reporter Jun 2021)
“I’m a big believer that, if you can produce homegrown talent & players who have come through the club, there’s extra meaning to represent that football club for the player”
Ange Postecoglou (June 2021)
“I want my football teams to play and that’s to make sure our supporters don’t sit down for 90 minutes”
Ange Postecoglou (June 2021)
“A landmark move for an Australian coach!”
Football Australia on Ange Postecoglu getting the Celtic job (June 2021)
“What I’ve learned in my 11 years of being here and keeping an eye on the game is that he’s a winner. Wherever he goes, he seems to have that formula and structure to his teams, and the way he plays brings success.”
Paul McStay (June 2021), https://www.celticfc.com/news/2021/june/Paul-McStay-Celtic-have-secured-a-quality-coach-in-Ange-Postecoglou/
“It’s a club that expects to win every game and that’s not a cliché, it’s the reality.”
Ange Postecoglou
“At the very least we now know what the Ange in Ange Postecoglou stands for. Absolutely. Not. Good. Enough.”
Hugh Keevins- August 2021
“Ange Postecoglou has no authority at Celtic, no backing, no support from the board — and virtually no chance of being successful. Right now, if I was him I’d pack my bags and go. Postecoglou might as well hand in his resignation and take himself back to Australia.”
Sky sports analyst and former Rangers player Kris Boyd in his newspaper column (August 2021)
“It’s something I dreamt about years ago – being over here and managing in Europe. To be given the opportunity to manage a huge club is one I’m really looking forward to.”
Ange Postecoglou June 2021
“If I didn’t want pressure I’d probably be doing a different type of occupation.”
Ange Postecoglou Jun 2021
“Celtic is a club with great traditions and history but it’s also a club of great standing and high values and I won’t let anyone use this club as a vehicle for individual purposes.”
Ange Postecoglou
“The guys who are going to leave will leave, that’s not my department. I’m concentrating on the ones who are involved. I can’t afford to waste time on anyone other than the ones who are here and committed to being here.”
Postecoglou on Ajer (July 2021)
“I’m not an accountant mate. I’m a football manager. When people start talking to me about finances they miss the essence of what I’m about. I’m not interested. I want to win games, I want to win trophies, I want to bring special nights to here. The finances are for other people.”
Ange Postecoglou when asked what exiting Champions League would mean for Celtic finances (July 2021)
“We need to start strongly tomorrow, with a performance and with a result, but there’s no doubt in mind that as the season goes on, we’ll get stronger and we’ll see how far that takes us.”
Ange Postecoglou (July 2021)
“I’m still on the same planet mate, I haven’t come from outer space. You’d be surprised how much I know about Hearts.”
Ange Postecoglou (July 2021)
“Mistakes are a part of the nature of football, it’s the reaction to them that’s important”
Ange Postecoglou (Aug 2021)
“If you end up in arguments with ignorant people, you eventually become one of them.”
Ange on critics of Kyogo claiming he’s a serial diver & cheat on the field (Dec 2021)
“S’times the game saps that (love of fitba) out of you, whether you’re a player or coach so I try & provide an env where players enjoy football, know their responsibilities & work hard, but get a huge kick at the end because the rewards are success & enjoying their football”
Ange P (Aug 2021)
“Favourites, underdogs becomes really irrelevant. What becomes important for me is belief. Belief in ourselves, belief in our football, belief in our football club and to take every contest head-on.”
Ange on Celtic being underdogs in his first match against Sevco
“My view on that is, if you are a strict vegetarian, you don’t drop into Macca’s just because you are hungry mate, you know? This is what I believe in!”
Ange Postecoglu (Oct 2021)
“I don’t pop champagne corks for clean sheets.”
Ange Postecoglou (Oct 2021)
“Celtic is a club with great traditions and history but it’s also a club of great standing and high values and I won’t let anyone use this club as a vehicle for individual purposes.”
Ange Postecoglou (Oct 2021)
“They’re the most important part of this football club.”
Ange Postecoglou on the fans
“It usually comes down to what drives the individual. These things are great but then finances come into it, other factors can influence the decision. I’m not going to try and convince anyone to stay. If you don’t understand how special it is to be a part of this place, nothing I’m going to say will change that… While they’re under my charge, I’ll just get them to be the best they can be.”
Ange Postecoglu (Feb 2022)
“I don’t know how sad your life is to be looking up stats like that, mate,” he said affectionately. “Look, I think it is an indication of our form over the last couple of months – possibly longer, to be honest. I think the key thing for us is not to get too sidetracked about what’s happened in the past. We’ve been really good at focusing on our next challenge and making sure we are at our best. I think when you do that your performance level doesn’t drop, if anything it keeps improving.”
Ange Postecoglu (Feb 2022)
“Just get it into your heads: we never stop. We never stop. We’ll stop at half-time and we’ll stop at the end of the game when we celebrate. But during the game, we don’t stop”
Ange Postecoglou (Dec 2021)
“I don’t think some of the decisions went our way but rather than complain, we just win.”
Ange Postecoglou (Dec 2021)
“I don’t like empty stadiums. I assume everyone wants to play in packed houses otherwise play in our back yards. I didn’t enjoy it with very few fans. SUPPORTERS MAKE THE GAME”
Ange Postecoglou (Dec 2022)
“It’s the one thing, football and supporters are not two separate entities as far as I’m concerned.”
Ange Postecoglou
“I’m not just manager of a football club. I’m manager of everything that football club embodies, and this is a club that’s had really strong values, a really strong identity and a lot of success since 1888.”
Ange Postecoglou (Feb 2022)
“We’ve just got to keep going and keep performing, keep making sure that we play our football and believe in our football.”
Ange Postecoglou (Feb 2022)
Kenny Macintyre: “That was a hard watch at times – is that fair?”
Ange Postecoglou: “It depends what you’re looking for – maybe you’re disappointed with the way it went, mate.”
Ange Postecoglou after win over St Mirren (Feb 2022)
“They’ve been unbelievable from pretty much day one.”
Ange Postecoglou praises Celtic support (March 2022)
Ange Postecoglou when asked if Sevco’s Europa League run demonstrates how well Scottish teams can do in Europe: “If you want evidence of how well Scottish clubs can do in Europe, there’s a trophy I can show you just down the road here, mate.”
Ange Postecoglou (Apr 2022)
“People were questioning my appointment … I love that stuff.”
Ange Postecoglou on the naysayers. (Apr 2022)
The jury was out on me. There was no great recognition of what I had done.”
Ange Postecoglu (Apr 2022)
“I don’t tell them, I just avoid them mate. Easy discussion, I just put the team up and walk away,”
Ange on Squad rotation (Oct 2022)
“I have never worried about my contract length or security. I kind of work as if I will be there forever, knowing that I won’t be. I am really happy at the football club. I have had an amazing year, amazing support, and it’s everything I have ever wanted in a football club. It’s a massive club, it’s geared for success.”
Ange Postecoglu (2022)
“Yeah I absolute love them”
Ange on the big Glasgow derby (2022)
“If there’s a system that doesn’t give you risk, I’d love to hear it.”
Postecoglou (Sep 2022)
“To me it’s – what’s their character? What’s their personality? What’s their motivation for coming to this football club? If I get the wrong one, not only does it affect that player but it affects my dressing room as well.”
Ange Postecoglou
“Ange is a coach who relies a lot on video and who tries to get into the opponent’s head. Thanks to this, I realised that when you push the opposing team to do exactly what they don’t want, you can outwit them to an unimaginable extent.”
Christopher Jullien in a post-Celtic interview (2022)
“If you play for survival that’s all you’ll ever get, you’ll never get anywhere.”
Ange Postecoglou (Oct 2022)
“If anyone can tell me that we don’t deserve to be there or we’ve been outplayed or looked out of place, then I reckon they’re talking from an agenda…”
Ange Postecoglou insists Celtic have shown they belong in the Champions League. (2022)
“He’s got Celtic playing Rock n Roll football, that’s his style.”
Harry Kewell has set up camp in Scotland as Ange Postecoglou’s assistant. (Oct 2022)
“It’s not that I’m ignorant to this kind of stuff. These things always happen. It’s just not the way I’m wired. I love what I’m doing. I’m so passionate about this football club & achieving success. But I haven’t yet achieved what I want to achieve”
Ange on speculation in papers on Japan national side managerial job (Nov 2022)
Asked about Rangers’ appointment, the Celtic boss said: “On the scale of things that have been on my mind over the last two weeks, I reckon that’s registering below what I’m having for dinner tonight”
Ange (Dec 2022)
‘What Ange has done everywhere he has gone, every job he has been at, is leave the club in a better place. I actually think he is very happy where he is.’
Australia icon Mark Schwarzer on Postecoglou, Celtic and covering the Socceroos.
‘He’s a good coach – but he’s spent a lot of money’
Sevco manager Michael Beale claims Ange is LUCKY over Celtic outlay (Jan 2023)
“I’m pretty blessed to be in the position I am working for a special football club.”
Ange Postecoglou (Feb 2023)
“Everyone keeps saying I have to keep everyone happy. Am I supposed to go around making them cups of tea or buy their wife some flowers? They should be happy with a smile on their face every day because they’re doing what they love & representing a fantastic football club.”
Ange Postecoglu (Feb 2023)
“VAR doesn’t miss anything by the looks of it – especially with us.”
Ange Postecoglou (Mar 2023)
“He doesn’t actually speak to us much at all. At the training ground, he delivers information when he needs to do so, in meetings and on the pitch in pre-match sessions. In general, you probably won’t see that much of him. He keeps himself to himself. I think that is so he detaches away from the players to allow him to pick a team without too much emotion. So I can understand his reasoning for that. But at the same time, whenever I have spoken to him he has been very friendly. You don’t expect to hear much from him. So when you do you are probably quite grateful that he actually speaks to you, in a way. I think he is careful in terms of when he speaks to you and in saying the right things.”
Matt O’Reilly on Postecoglu (Mar 2023)
Asked about his proudest Celtic moment, he said:
“The day I was appointed. All you can ever ask for in life, and particularly somebody like myself, is an opportunity. Being given the opportunity to manage this great football club (Celtic) was the best day for me.”
Ange Postecoglou (Mar 2023)
‘Are you trying to say Celtic isn’t as big an adventure as some of those clubs allegedly interested. Why would Ange Postecoglou go there to get relegated’
Kenny Dalglish on Postecoglu rumours (Mar 2023)
“When the club talks to me about any bids, I usually say my phone’s not working.”
Ange Postecoglou (Apr 2023)
“If you can keep being on that stage, that’s how you make gains. I’ve got no doubt that next year we will have learned from last year and try and bridge that gap between us and the best clubs in Europe.”
Ange Postecoglou
“The heavyweight champion of the world doesn’t have to win every round. But he holds the belt. We hold the belt.”
Ange Postecoglou
“Champions again because I’m a lucky man!”
Ange Postecoglu on League Trophy day with a subtle dig at Sevco’s manager who opined that Postecoglu was just a lucky manager (May 2023)
“I don’t see him building that rapport with the fans, with the club and everybody connected to Celtic worldwide and then suddenly just turning his back on them… Leaving a legacy at Celtic is really important to Ange. In my heart of hearts, I don’t think he will go to Tottenham Hotspur.”
Stevie Blair, one of Ange Postecoglou’s close friends commenting following growing speculation of Spurs to make move for Ange as manager (June 2023)
“It was an honour to be asked to be Celtic manager and during my two years I have given everything I have to deliver success to our supporters. Culminating in the Treble at the weekend, my players and backroom team have been brilliant for me on this journey.”
Ange Postecoglou (June 2023)
“Celtic is a phenomenal football club, and so much more – and I will forever be a supporter of this great institution. I wish everyone connected with Celtic nothing but continued success.”
Ange Postecoglou (June 2023)
“I’m not surprised Spurs fans are frustrated with Postecoglou because he’s from Celtic. They will comment and criticise Postecoglou’s appointment, that’s normal, but he does deserve a chance first.”
Louis Saha (ex-Spurs player, June 2023)
“It’s a special football club. If you have a bucket list as a manager of football clubs you want to manage, that’s probably one of them. The supporters aren’t really supporters, the club is an extension of them – it’s a family.”
Ange Postecoglou on Celtic at his 1st Spurs presser (Jul 2023)
“Celtic was a massive challenge. I know some people say if you’re Celtic – You’re either going to finish 1st or 2nd, but 2nd is last; 2nd I’m not in a job so you have to finish 1st.”
Ange Postecoglou on Celtic at his 1st Spurs presser (Jul 2023)
“Ange will never get more pressure than he did managing Celtic Football Club.”
Ex-Celt (& currently West Ham manager) David Moyes on Ange Postecoglou (Jul 2023)
“It was a magical time for me. Look, I’ve gone from managing one of the most famous clubs in the world [Celtic] to now one of the biggest [Spurs]. I’m living the dream. My two years at Celtic, I don’t need to tell people that, will stay with me forever. Mainly because of the supporters. It was a magical couple of years there and I kept saying everyone if you’ve got a bucket list of clubs you want to be involved with, Celtic should be right at the top of that list.”
Ange Postecoglou (Sep 2023)