CALLUM MCGREGOR spoke to Australian publication KEEPUP this week about the season and how the team has evolved over the past 10 months.
Callum was part of the side last season who totally lost the plot behind closed doors. The team imploded in a huge way, leaving their title dreams in tatters after a period of dominance.
The team had to be reset with a lot of the big players who had brought us so much success moved on.
It was up to Ange and Celtic to rebuild – and he’s managed to do it in a big way.
The Celtic captain has hailed the recruitment from the manager and signing players who fit into his system. It’s been a massive part of how Celtic have gone from a rebuild to inevitable title winners.
Speaking to KEEPUP, Callum could not be more complimentary of what the manager has done.
“The gaffer’s come in, he’s done a brilliant job. His recruitment’s been fantastic, he’s recruited for the style of football he wants to play, and then (for) the players to come in and produce so many big performances in the first season, a lot of them coming far and wide (from) all over the world and come in and fit into this group. They’ve done fantastically well.”
McGregor also praised the manager’s style of play and how it suits him down to the ground.
“The manager’s style suits players like myself that like to have lots of touches on the ball, nice small passes, play one and two touch, connect the game properly. The team’s always connected, the structure of the team is always really good and that gives us success within the game,” he sad.
“He’s not asking anybody to do anything outrageous. It’s just touch pass, touch pass. He’s always on about that touch pass tempo, and as quickly as you can move the ball through the pitch then it gives the opposition less chance to recover. It seems simple but it’s effective.
“For us to have so many technically good players, and to have a manager who wants to do that and wants us to play that way, that’s the reason we’ve been so successful.
“It (Postecoglou’s impact) has been huge. Just on his recruitment, he has a style and identity as a manager. In football you have to recruit for the style you want to play. He’s done that brilliantly well.
“He’s come in with that authority, he’s been very clear in the message he wants in the message from the players transferring onto the pitch how we behave on the training ground, how we train. And come matchday, he demands we play our best football on that day. And then the next game (again).
“He’s very demanding, but for footballers, that’s what you want. You want a coach to always challenge you and make you play on the edge, and always make you play your best football and that’s the impact he’s had coming into the group.
“He’s always kept the players on edge, he’s kept rotating the team, which means the performances are always at a high level because when you’re in the team, you want to stay in the team. And the guys that are training really hard are then pushing the starting boys and that’s how the standard continues to raise.
“He’s had a huge impact on the club.”
Many of the Australian sports media have come to town to watch Ange’s Celtic win the title. The manager is further solidifying himself as one of Australia’s greatest ever sports heroes.
Winning in Australia, Japan and now Scotland is no easy feat, but Ange continues to bring success to the clubs he manages. We can only hope the next phase of the rebuild will mean more success for the Hoops.
