Ange Postecoglou had a wonderful two years at Celtic. Arriving under difficult circumstances and as a relative unknown in the European game, not many gave the Australian a chance. The Hoops had finished 25 points behind the Rangers the previous season and had seen players like Scott Brown, Odsonne Edouard, Kris Ajer and Ryan Christie leave that summer.
As a result, most believed that it would at least take Celtic a year or two to rebuild and get in a position where they could challenge for the title again. Postecoglou managed to pull it off in six months.
He won Celtic a Premiership and League Cup double in his debut season, against all odds, and then delivered the treble a year later. He would then leave for Tottenham Hotspur, for whom he won the Europa League, ending a 17-year wait for silverware, but was sacked despite that.
Now, Postecoglou finds himself as the manager of Nottingham Forest, having not had to stay outside of the game for long. And even though he has been away from Celtic for more than two years now, it is very clear that he holds his time at the club close to his heart.
Ange Postecoglou makes superb Celtic claim on Sky Sports
Postecoglou recently had a sit-in interview with Sky Sports. While speaking to them, the Nottingham Forest manager said (via 67 Hail Hail):
"I think everywhere I’ve been, it’s been a similar challenge. Apart from sort of Celtic, where they had a year where they didn’t win anything, but anyone up there…"
The Sky Sports interviewer said upon hearing this:
"That might as well be 50 years, you know."
Postecoglou agreed with the sentiment and pointed out how something similar was the motivation behind his taking the Tottenham Hotspur job:
"You took the words right out of my mouth. And I love that, it was the biggest enticement for me doing the Tottenham job.
“I know people think it’s because it’s a Premier League, but the fact they hadn’t won anything, I just thought, you know, what? If I do win something, it’ll be, you know, it’ll be something historically memorable."
Well, Postecoglou has the chance to do something similar at Nottingham Forest. A historic club, with two European cups in their cabinet, they have not won anything significant for a long time now. If the Australian can end that run, he will go down in the history books, again.
His start to life as Nottingham Forest manager has not been great though. He is yet to taste victory after the first five games and if things do not improve quickly, he might be shown the exit door in the not too distant future.
Admittedly, that might end up being a positive for Celtic. It is very possible that they could find themselves in need of a manager at the end of this situation with Brendan Rodgers' contract running out. Who better than Postecoglou?