Ange Postecoglou has certainly been very successful as the manager of Celtic, since arriving in the summer of 2021. Back then, he was pretty much an unknown in European football and his appointment was not a popular one amongst the club’s fans either. The Hoops had been linked with a move for Eddie Howe for months before that, but it failed to materialise.
But it did not take the Australian manager long to change the entire perception around him and he has proven to be a massive fan favourite over time, as the club have returned to the top of the Scottish game. They won the Premiership and League Cup double last season, and are in contention for all three trophies this time around.
Overall, Postecoglou has appeared to get the best out of players. Of course, it is not possible to do that with everyone though. And for Christopher Jullien, things just did not work out.
Jullien was a nailed on starter for Celtic before his injury troubles. He spent over a year out and was not able to come back, and regain his place in the team. The Frenchman barely featured last season and left for Montpellier in the summer.
Former Celtic star makes interesting Postecoglou claim
As reported by Glasgow Live, Jullien told the Daily Mail:
"“I came back from France and I could see the coach was trying to implement new ideas. But I couldn’t take part. As he’s said, he doesn’t stop! He started on his way and never looked back.“I had some conversations at the beginning about how he sees the game. It was fascinating. I can say he is one of the best trainers I have witnessed. But the man himself, we just didn’t click.“Sometimes my team-mates would say why not go and see him? And I’m like ‘man, what do you want me to say? The team is winning every game three or four-zero, you’re winning everything’.“He was a really good coach but as a man we didn’t have that link. I understand that management is difficult. It’s not just 11 players and keeping everyone involved is hard because players can be impatient, emotional.“I played just once. It was a cup game against a second division team and I felt I could have had more time but afterwards I said ‘thanks coach’.“Before the season finished I went to see him, not to ask to play, but to see how he found me in training and my level. After we finished the meeting he said: ‘If we are champions I will probably give you some minutes’. It didn’t happen. It felt like he’d told me something and done the contrary.”"
Jullien also revealed the he did not say goodbye to Postecoglou when he left the club in the summer:
"“When summer came I had the feeling he was really distant about me. So when I moved I didn’t say bye. I said goodbye to the people who helped me the most during my time at Celtic, Cal [Callum McGregor] was the first one I spoke to. Now I’m back playing in Ligue 1 and it feels good.”"
So, while Jullien recognises Postecoglou as a very good coach, it is clear that he did not have a great relationship with the manager on a personal level.
Now, to be fair to Postecoglou, it was very difficult to give more minutes to Jullien at that point of time. When the Frenchman returned to fitness, Celtic were making a title charge already, and Carl Starfelt and Cameron Carter-Vickers had firmly established themselves as the starting duo in the heart of defence.