Ange Postecoglou has landed a gig in London; the new manager of English football powerhouse Tottenham. It’s a massive job, but he could not be more ready.
The news comes off the back of the his Celtic claiming a domestic treble, in what is another monumental accomplishment for the supercoach.
The Glasgow powerhouse had ticked off a second-straight Scottish premiership; a 2-0 away win over Hearts, confirming back-to-back league wins. They did it with four games to spare.
That followed Celtic grabbing a crucial 1-0 Scottish Cup Semi-Final win against fierce rival Rangers, setting up a Scottish Cup decider date with Inverness on June 3. And they ate up the pressure, after starting as the overwhelming favourite.
Let’s recap Ange Postecoglou and Celtic’s treble; now five of the six available trophies in a two-year span. There was speculation as to what it could mean for his career prospects in England, and now we know. It’s set him up for the opportunity of a lifetime.
Ange Postecoglou linked to Tottenham job
Various outlets are reporting that Postecoglou has informed Celtic of his intentions to take over the top job at Tottenham, completing his rise from down under to London.
But publicly, his response to those questions centred around enjoying the treble.
“I will say to them what I said to the players, let’s enjoy this,” he told media.
“I deserve to enjoy this, the people around me deserve to enjoy this.
“Whatever other people want to focus on and talk about, I am not going to miss enjoying this moment with this group of people but also I owe it to my family, my friends, all of those closest to me.
How Ange Postecoglou and Celtic won the treble
The silverware treble, in Scotland, is winning the Scottish League Cup, Scottish Cup and also the EPL-equivalent Scottish Premiership.
Step one of the treble was secured after Celtic nabbed the Scottish League Cup back in February, beating Rangers in Glasgow.
Step two was locking in back-to-back Scottish Premiership titles and that was locked away with four games remaining.
So don’t undersell what Postecoglou’s group managed its way through; a month of semi-meaningless football, trying to stay ready for one more hugely important game. And that proved no issue for this ultra-impressive outfit.
Celtic won Scottish Cup final against Inverness 3-1.
How to watch the Scottish Cup final from Australia
Celtic v Inverness CT, Hampden Park (South Glasgow), 2:30am AEST, June 4
With the Scottish Cup final now over, replays are available in Australia on Kayo.
Will Ange Postecoglou go to the Premier League if he wins the treble?
This question was being asked a while ago, but it’s never been more real.
Postecoglou made history as the first Australian to coach a major European club when he signed to Celtic back in 2021, and has continued to prove his worth ever since.
But while he was relatively unknown when he first arrived, he is now a hot commodity in the football space and has been rumoured to Premier League clubs basically every time a manager gets sacked.
While winning the treble has only added to speculation that Postecoglou may ‘graduate’ to the Premier League, he has maintained an intention of building long-term success at Celtic. That changes when the right offer comes along, though, of course. As the linked story just above points out, there’s been a record amount of manager churn in the EPL this year. There are jobs up for grabs.
Which Premier League clubs could lure Ange Postecoglou?
Ange Postecoglou is no doubt paying attention to the brutality being inflicted, particularly by certain impatient owners. That’s not to say a place like Tottenham wouldn’t offer luring qualities.
“Spurs will be extremely tempting and they have a lot of appeal as a club,” former Hibernian striker Tam McManus said of Postecoglou recently, amid rumours he would move to the north London heavyweight.
“They have a fantastic stadium and world-class players and I think he would leave Glasgow if Tottenham came calling.
“But he is doing very well at Celtic and building a long-term project there.
“It would be a huge decision to make.“
Chelsea was the other London-based heavyweight searching for a long-term manager option, after the cruel sacking of Graham Potter. The former Brighton & Hove Albion coach was set up to fail and the club, under new ownership, has a lot on its plate right now.
But that won’t be Ange’s problem; former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has been confirmed as the coaching successor at Stamford Bridge.
Accepting an offer at Chelsea right now is fraught with danger, given how impatient the new ownership appears. Ange Postecoglou may well have dodged a bullet there, if the two parties did indeed have conversations.
The Australian manager has enjoyed incredible success in recent years; in Japan and more recently Scotland. And the job offers now appear to be taking care of themselves.
