Since his arrival as the manager of the Rangers, Michael Beale has quickly won over the club’s support. Of course, the fact that their results have improved drastically after the World Cup break has gone a long way in that. But he has been saying a lot of the things that you would expect the Ibrox team’s fans to want to hear as well. And Steven Gerrard’s former right-hand man recently talked about the amount of money that Celtic have spent recently.
Of course, it is not a secret that Celtic’s squad has undergone a bit of an overhaul since the appointment of Ange Postecoglou as manager in the summer of 2021. That was always going to be the case though, considering the number of key players who departed the club.
In that summer, Scott Brown brought an end to his long run as Celtic captain while key stars like Odsonne Edouard and Kristoffer Ajer departed in big money moves to the Premier League. Ryan Christie also left for Bournemouth, while several other loan players with first-team roles also headed back to their parent clubs.
Thus, the squad was paper thin and even after making twelve additions that summer, Celtic struggled badly with depth issues in the first half of last season. It was only after making further additions last January, that the situation was brought under some control.
Celtic boss agrees with Beale’s controversial ‘lucky’ claim
As reported by the Daily Record, Beale had said recently:
"“We don’t spend the most money in this country. Celtic have made three signings and people are asking: ‘Are you going to make three’? No, we will do what we think (is best). But also, they spend a lot more money than us. So Ange is a lucky man because he’s spent a lot of money.“He’s a good coach – but he’s spent a lot of money.”"
Well, Postecoglou has come back with a classic reply. As reported by The Scottish Sun, the Celtic manager said:
"“I agree, mate. I’m an extremely lucky man.“I work for a fantastic football club with fantastic people. I’ve got a beautiful family. And I’ve been doing this for 25 years now, and long may that continue.”"
In many ways, that is the perfect reply that Postecoglou could have given. Any manager would be lucky to be at a club like Celtic.
Yes, the Hoops have made a lot of signings since the summer of 2021, but they have done so while balancing the books. That is not an easy task. Ibrox fans should know that better than most.