Former Celtic striker Frank McAvennie has backed Hoops manager Ange Postecoglou to stay at Parkhead until one of Europe’s ‘big guns’ comes calling.

According to a report from the Sunday Times on 11 September, the 57-year-old remains a strong contender to become the next Brighton manager, after Graham Potter left the club to take the vacancy at Premier League giants Chelsea.

On 13 September, via Herald Scotland, the Australian asserted he was ‘paying no attention’ to the speculation linking him with a move to the Amex Stadium, and that he remained fully focused on succeeding with Celtic.

The Latest: McAvennie’s claim

McAvennie believes that Postecoglou would only be swayed by one of the ‘big guns’ from England or Spain, as he has amounted to huge success at Parkhead.

Speaking with Football Insider, the Celtic legend claimed of the current Hoops boss: “I don’t think there’s a club that could turn his head.

“The man came into Celtic without a team, without a backroom staff. He came in on his own and changed that whole system, that whole team, the club, people are smiling again and that’s big credit to one guy.

“To go to Brighton won’t be on Ange’s radar. If he goes anywhere, it’ll be bigger than that. He’s proven himself all over the world now. Wherever he’s gone he’s won. He’s either going to go to the big guns in England or the big guns abroad.

“He’ll go at some point because he’s that good. It’s the same as what I say about players. If you’re playing well people are going to come in for you and show an interest, and that’s credit to the player. This is credit to the manager. He’s doing that well; people are going to come in for him. There’s nothing we can do about that, but I’ve got a feeling that it’ll have to be one of the big boys.

“Brighton aren’t a patch on Celtic. The money might be better, but I don’t think Ange is interested in that. It’s interesting but look at what happened to Brendan [Rodgers]. He’s in a terrible state now. All the promises that were made to him didn’t happen.“

The Verdict: Keep him at all costs

Having arrived at Celtic in June 2021, Postecoglou has gone on to achieve plenty of success already in charge of the Glasgow giants.

Having averaged 2.25 points per match whilst at Parkhead, the former Australia manager has already gone on to win the Premiership and the Scottish League Cup.

Leading the Hoops to their first Champions League group stage campaign since 2017/18, Postecoglou has clearly established himself as a fan favourite at Celtic Park.

Therefore, it would be a massive disappointment if he were to leave the club in what may be considered a downgrade of a move if he joined Brighton, who with the greatest of respect have only won one major honour (way back in 1910/11). Thankfully, that doesn’t seem likely to materialise just yet.