Former Celtic midfielder and assistant manager Peter Grant has stated that with a manager like Ange Postecoglou, Celtic doesn’t need a director of football after all the claims during the summer.
After the departure of former boss Neil Lennon, there were calls throughout the summer for a rebuild behind the scenes as well as on the field, with calls for the club to bring in a director of football.
Since then, though, current manager Ange Postecoglou has rejuvenated the club, undergoing a major rebuild and now finds his side top of the Scottish Premiership, with a Premier Sports cup already in the bag.
Speaking to the Sunday Mail, Grant has insisted that with an old school manager like Postecoglou, the Hoops don’t need a director of football, with the former Socceroos boss proving to be a brilliant appointment.
“He believed 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 jigsaw 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. I can’t think of another manager who has transformed a club and a team so completely in such a short space of time.”
Although we have seen great success under Ange, who has proven to do superb work on and off the field, a director of football or sporting director might still be something the club will be looking into for the long term.
Ange’s methods have worked brilliantly so far. But at the same time, the 56-year old won’t be at Parkhead forever, as bad as that sounds.
Hopefully, with a quality coach like Ange, the club can work to have more structure behind the scenes and plan for the short and long-term future.
