Former Scottish FA chief Stewart Regan has explained the process Ange Postecoglou will have to go through to become Celtic manager.
The former Australia national team coach is currently in charge of Yokohama Marinos in Japan but is the favourite to fill the vacancy left at Celtic Park.
However, due to a career spent coaching outside Europe, Postecoglou doesn’t hold the required UEFA Pro Licence required for him to take the job.
However, there is a process he and Celtic can go through to get round that, and Regan has explained what that would entail in order to allow the Greek-born Aussie to coach in the Scottish Premiership.
He told Sky Sports: “It’s a complicated process but in essence the situation is that Ange Postecoglou has been coaching around the world, primarily in Australia and more recently in Japan.
“So he doesn’t possess UEFA’s pro-licence, which is what he would need (or an equivalent) if he was coach in the UK, in particular in Scotland.
“So what has to happen is the club and the Scottish Football Association have to apply to UEFA for what’s called a certificate of recognition. That’s like a competence certificate to say that the experience he has and the qualifications he has will allow him the recognition he needs to coach in Scotland.
“The process involves an application to what’s called UEFA’s JIRA panel, which is a committee of technical experts from across Europe. They will consider his experience and they look for five years experience at the highest level of the game, so coaching at club level at the highest level for five years, or of a national team.
“Then they will award this certificate of competence or recognition, and that will last for around three years if successful. Then it can be rolled over for a further period if the coach undertakes continuous development within Europe to the European standard.
“So there are a number of steps and hurdles to overcome but I think the process will be well underway if the club are keen to have him coaching at the top level.
As for any potential stumbling blocks Postecoglou could face, Regan explained: “Clearly that will be up to the JIRA panel to consider. Not just his experience but also they’ll look at his existing qualifications and they will see whether he has the highest coaching award from the countries in which he's operated.
“If he possesses that and it’s equivalent to UEFA’s minimum standard for the por qualification, then I’m sure they’ll take it favourably.”
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