Ange Postecoglou knows he’s facing an almighty challenge at Celtic.
But the Aussie is adamant it can’t be any bigger than moving to Japan without a word of the lingo and still leading his team to a title.
Postecoglou did that at Yokohama Marinos. Now he’s got the task of doing it again immediately at Celtic. It’s a big ask but the 55-year-old isn’t fazed.
Just as he isn’t fazed by the apparent snobbery which was evident upon his appointment.
Postecoglou is ready for it all. Questions about making a jump up to manage Celtic were met with a reminder that he’d coached at a World Cup. He said: “There is no bigger cultural challenge than coaching in a country where you don’t speak the language. I did that in Japan.
“That was a massive challenge for me and I enjoyed it. That’s why I went. Every job has differences but it’s not an enormous leap.
“It’s still football. That’s what I’ve found. When I went to Japan I couldn’t communicate. I had to figure out how I could get my message across some other way and we still did that.
“The team still played the football we wanted, the players responded and we were successful. What I bring is a little bit of a different perspective.
“I’ve had a different journey in football from many others. Most of my experience has been on the other side of the world.
“I bring here what I bring to every organisation I’ve worked with – a clear idea of how I want the team to play and how success comes from that.
“People will be in no doubt about how this team will play its football. Every team I’ve coached has had a real clear identity and it fits nicely with the traditions of this club.
“It’s probably one of the reasons I was chosen because I’ve done that for 25 years.
“It is a massive challenge but as a manager you always get opportunities where there is a massive challenge.
“If I didn’t want pressure I’d probably be doing a different occupation or stayed coaching my local club. But I’m here because this is where I want to be.”
On the snobbery aspect, he continued: “If the perception is I worked at a lower level, then it’s a matter of opinion. I’ve coached at a World Cup and against some of the best teams in the world.
“That’s just life. I think people look at what’s immediately in front of you and there haven’t been many reasons for people to look on the other side of the world.
“I’ve never really worried about that sort of stuff. It’s never been a driver in me to try and prove that I’m worthy in some way just because I’ve grown up on the other side of the world.
“I understand it. I’m sure that Google got a helluva battering when my name came up with people trying to figure out who I am. But that’s okay.
“I totally understand it but I think people will judge me from what I do from now on.”
Postecoglou has been readied for this at a young age. He got a Celtic education during his early days as a player at South Melbourne. He said: “At the time we had a lot of players from the UK. We signed Frank Munro from Celtic when he was at the end of his career. I played with Danny Crainie who played with Celtic.
“I walked into the dressing room and it was, ‘Hey wee man’ and, ‘Hey big man’.
“I was a kid of Greek background so culturally, it was an interesting experience for me. But the one thing it did was keep feeding this thing inside my head about how big football is.
“They would talk, particularly, the guys from the UK and we had four or five Scotsmen. One was a season-ticket holder and probably still is. He was forever telling me about Celtic.
“It was all he’d talk about. We’d hang out for the result at the weekend. There’s been linkage there and I think that surprises people because we are so far away.
“I can understand why people wouldn’t look to Australia in a footballing sense. It’s probably more a holiday destination or cricket or rugby.
“But going the other way we have certainly paid attention to what is going on here.”
Postecoglou can handle himself. He smiled off the Eddie Howe question as he said: “You’re assuming I was second choice. I might have been fifth! It doesn’t really bother me. What’s important is that I’ve been given the opportunity and the responsibility.
“I know it was only about four weeks ago when the club first made contact with me. There seemed to be a bit of symmetry there. They were looking for somebody like me. Things just seemed to align.”
Postecoglou knows time is no ally. He will be judged almost instantly with a first Champions League qualifying test against FC Midtjylland less than four weeks away.
But he added: “I can’t control that. My priority is the Celtic supporters and how they feel about the team, and I think they’ll judge what they see, not just necessarily the result.
“If I worried about things like that it would mean all I have to do is win the first game and I’ve got the tick and I’m flying.
“It’s not going to be perfect, it can’t be. We’ve got to make changes to the team so there’s no way.
“To be honest, whatever we deliver in that opening game, even if everything is great, I’ll still know there is more to come.”
