Dreams and songs to sing

 

Dreams and songs to sing

Following Celtic’s historic cup win at Hampden last week, I watched the body language of Ange Postecoglou to see if there were any clues about his state of mind regarding leaving Celtic. In truth, the camera panning onto Peter Lawwell and Dermot Desmond told me all I needed to know. Their side had just completed a historic eighth treble and they stood there with glum faces watching the celebrations unfold, looking for all the world like officials from the losing club.

As we all know now, Ange was in an advanced stage of talks with Spurs by the time of the cup final and by the following week, the Celtic fans were left like a teenager being dumped by text message. Maybe we should have learned by now not to get to close to players or managers, most have an eye on the riches south of the border and will go if the chance arrives. It all reminded me of Jock Stein warning a young Alex Ferguson years ago about players; ‘never fall in love with them because they’ll all two time you in the end.’  

Most of us fell in love with Ange and thought we’d found the perfect fit for our football club. We should have known better though, as we felt the same about Brendan Rodgers. Ange leaves us in a better place and has given us some good memories of how football should be played in the modern era. He also handled our sports media with contemptuous ease, which was pleasing to see.

I for one don’t blame Ange Postecoglou for wanting to challenge himself at the highest possible level. He’s 58 in August and in the latter stages of his coaching career. Like many in Australia, he’d have grown up watching English football on tv and seeing it as the holy grail to play or coach there. The money will help too with some suggesting he could be earning up to £10m a season at Spurs. That’s life changing for not only him, but also for his children.  We should graciously say thanks and good luck, but like that dumped teenager, it’ll rankle for a while, at least until someone new catches our imagination.

So, we pick ourselves up and move on. Celtic remains a very attractive proposition to any coach. They have a talented young squad, money in the bank, a terrific stadium a committed fanbase and, perhaps most alluring of all for a prospective coach, a place booked in next season’s Champions League. Early  rumours suggest Brendan Rodgers may return but he’d have some fences to mend with the support given the way he left Celtic in his first stint in charge. I doubt we’ve heard the truth behind that departure as yet and it might help if he spelled it out. Perhaps the board wouldn’t back his ambition? Perhaps he had signed a confidentiality agreement and couldn’t tell us what was going on. Or perhaps, more realistically, the lure of the English Premiership was too much to resist after a couple of seasons going around the grounds of Scottish football. If he is to return, it’ll take a major PR exercise to get the support on board. Winning always helps and he did build a very useful Celtic side, at least domestically.

Kjetil Knutsen of Bodo Glimt. Is another in the frame and the 54-year-old Norwegian is a coach with a similar outlook to Postecoglou on how the game should be played. Taking a side with an average crowd of around 3000 to the last 8 of a European tournament is an impressive feat and of course his side defeated Celtic that season home and away. He also claims to be the only manager to put 6 past a Jose Mourinho team when Bodo cuffed Roma 6-1. His fast, pressing style of play would suit Celtic and most fans would be happy to see him roll up the Celtic Way.

There will be others quietly expressing an interest, but the board mustn’t drag it out in the manner they did when courting Eddie Howe. It was over three months before they gave up on Howe after he appeared to fail to persuade his backroom side to come to the SPFL. That summer of purgatory must not be repeated as Celtic have a big season ahead and the new coach will need time to assess the squad, target new players, off load those no longer required and impress on the team how he wants the game played.

Celtic’s key players all have significant time left on their contracts and the club should only accept appropriate offers for any of them.  We don’t want unsettled players but neither do we want clubs in England treating us like the footballing equivalent of the bargain bucket. If any major players do move on, the new coach should be given the proceeds to strengthen the squad.

This is, of course, the silly season in the press and all sorts of names will be mentioned in the context of comings and goings at Celtic. It’s best to remain sceptical until deals are done. Perhaps we’ve all learned to be a little less trusting of those who claim to love the club but in reality, use it as a career stepping stone. As long as Celtic remain in the low-income world of Scottish football, or the game here is revolutionised, we will have difficulty holding on to any genuine class performers on the pitch or in the dugout. There is a food chain in football and big as Celtic is, it is nowhere near the top of it.

The quicker Celtic end the uncertainty and appoint a coach, the quicker we can move on to the next chapter in the club’s history. No individual is bigger than the club and players and managers will come and go. The supporters will always be there though, demanding that the standards remain high and the club is moving forward.

Like that jilted teenager, we need to meet someone new,  learn to let go of the past and build again for the future.

We need our dreams and our songs to sing.

Over to you Celtic.