Celtic’s biggest strength during the time of Ange Postecoglou as manager has most probably been their recruitment as the Hoops have shown a brilliant eye for identifying players who would fit into the system. Even in this January transfer window, they strengthened considerably, by bringing in Yuki Kobayashi, Alistair Johnston, Tomoki Iwata and Oh Hyeon-gyu.
Of course, there have been some exits as well, with the most high profile being that of Josip Juranovic, as the Croatian World Cup hero left to join Union Berlin. But overall, the Celtic fans will be happy with how January went for the club.
Of course, some questions have been raised about Celtic’s transfer signings in recent times. New Rangers manager, Michael Beale, even labelled Postecoglou as a “lucky man”. The Australian seems to have a clear view of the matter though, which will be music to the ears of the fans.
As reported by the Daily Record, the Celtic manager said:
"“That’s OK. I actually don’t mind people saying we have the biggest budget because we have the biggest fan base and we are the biggest club. People forget that that money is on the back of hard-earned supporters who don’t have a lot of money and choose to spend a significant portion of it on this football club.“My role is not to get their money and stick it in the bank. It’s to get their money and reinvest it in the thing they love. That’s my responsibility and why we do what we do.“If people are saying we are the biggest club in the land, then I don’t think that’s something we need to be embarrassed about. That’s who we are.“I guess my role in that is to maximise that. Just having the money and not spending it wisely would have people saying, ‘They have the biggest budget but they waste it!’. If people are saying we have the biggest budget and are spending it well, then I’m not sure they’re achieving their goal in saying we have some unfair advantage.”"
Celtic fans blown away by Postecoglou’s claim
Celtic supporters will have known already that Postecoglou has a way with words, and it is hard to imagine if there could have been a better reply to all the claims about the club’s transfers.
There is no doubt that Celtic have splashed out more than other clubs in Scotland in recent times. But they have done so while staying within their budget. If that is bigger than others, it is a positive and not a drawback.
Now, the important thing for Celtic will be to continue to deliver the goods on the pitch as well. They have done a great job at that till now, under the management of Postecoglou.
The Hoops won the Premiership and Scottish League Cup double last season, against all odds and expectations. This time around, they are leading the league by nine points and are in the final of the League Cup once again, where they will take on the Rangers.