Sky Sports pundit Andy Walker has been full of praise for Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou, claiming that the Australian has ‘surpassed any expectations’ that he had coming into this season.
The Lowdown: Postecoglou’s outstanding achievements
The 56-year-old was appointed as the new Hoops boss last summer when he joined from Yokohama F. Marinos, and it’s fair to say that he has achieved more than even he probably thought possible during his first campaign in charge, having got his hands on both the Premiership and League Cup trophies.
The Australian also guided Celtic to an astonishing 32-game unbeaten run in the league and has been renowned for his success during his two transfer windows so far, bringing in the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi, Josip Juranovic and Joe Hart.
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The Latest: Walker’s high praise for Postecoglou
In an interview with Glasgow Live, Walker hailed Postecoglou and admitted that the Celtic manager has done more for the club than the Sky pundit or the rest of his family could have ever imagined.
The former Bhoys striker said of the 56-year-old: “He finished the season by going 32 games unbeaten in the league and I never thought I'd be saying that when you look at what he had to bring in and the turnover in the squad.
"You look at his success in the transfer market. It's hard to find any of his signings who haven't made an impact. The turnaround has been extraordinary.
"I have six brothers and they all go to Celtic home games. We had a chat at the start of the season about what would be deemed a success.
“It was decided success would be if Ange could get that 25-point gap down to single figures, if Celtic could beat Rangers at least once and if they were going along to Celtic Park every week enjoying what they were seeing.
"If you got that, you'd let it go in the first season if the title wasn't to be, but Postecoglou has way surpassed any expectations."
The Verdict: Fair comment
Walker's remarks about the job that Postecoglou has done at Celtic are quite fair, particularly in terms of his transfer record and the overhaul of Rangers' utter superiority from last year.
Of the eight highest-rated current Hoops players this season according to Sofascore, six were signed by the incumbent manager, a sure sign that he is able to detect quality in the transfer market.
Also, as Walker mentioned, Celtic finished 25 points behind their arch-rivals last term. One year is all it has taken Postecoglou to not only bridge that gap but finish six points clear of the Gers this time around, an astonishing 31-point swing in less than 12 months.
In other news… a former Hoops manager has backed two Celtic stars to be perfect replacements for Tom Rogic