Celtic knew little but success during the time of Ange Postecoglou as the manager of the club from the summer of 2021 to 2023. The Hoops won five trophies, including a treble in his second campaign before the Australian decided to leave for Tottenham Hotspur. But if there was one shortcoming for Glasgow giants over the course of that run, it was their failure to make much progress in Europe, something that they have shown with Brendan Rodgers.
The biggest disappointment must have been their 5-1 aggregate loss to Bodo/Glimt. The Norwegian club won both legs, 2-0 at home and 3-1 away at Parkhead.
Joe Hart was a member of the Celtic team that lost to Bodo/Glimt. And he has now shed some light on the circumstances leading up to the Hoops' defeat.
As reported by the Daily Record, Hart told TNT Sports:
"Not much surprises me in football, especially in my latter years, but that Bodo/Glimt team really surprised me.
"We played them at home, we dropped out of the Europa League - we finished third and at that point you dropped into the Conference League.
"We feel pretty strong, we drew Bodo/Glimt, a Norwegian team - 'what are they like, oh they are pretty good on a plastic pitch' - that is all we knew.
"Obviously we do our analysis, very professional in the modern day - and I don't feel confident saying it - but we professionally took them lightly, and we disrespected them."
Celtic blamed for disrespecting opposition before losing 5-1
Postecoglou appears to have learned from his first experience against Bodo/Glimt. His Tottenham Hotspur side won their first leg of the UEFA Europa League semi-final and have one leg in the final. On the other hand, it looks like Manchester United will be their opposition, having comfortably gotten the better of Atletico Madrid in the opposite tie.
It remains to be seen what the future holds for the former Celtic boss. But it is worth pointing out that Tottenham Hotspur have not won a trophy since 2008. If he can end that run and bring an European trophy to the London club, then it is hard to imagine that they will sack him.
Even if they do, Postecoglou will have enough reason to leave with his head held high. As we all know, he always wins in his second season. Let's put that theory to the test, shall we?