ANGE POSTECOGLOU quitting Celtic for Brighton would be “absolute madness”.
That is the no-nonsense verdict from former Hoops midfielder Kris Commons who insists a move to the south coast outfit wouldn’t get the Greek-Australian gaffer’s “juices flowing”.
It becomes a bit wearisome when Parkhead gaffers are consistently targeted when a job become available across the border, as CQN reported last week.
There is no way Postecoglou will abandon what he is achieving to “downgrade” – as Chris Sutton pointed out – elsewhere, but the merry-go-round of rumour and speculation takes some stopping when it is in full whirl.
WARSAW HERE WE COME…Ange Postecoglou is planning for Shankhtar Donetsk.
The 57-year-old Parkhead chief was catapulted into the mix as soon as it was obvious Graham Potter was leaving to take over at sacked Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea.
Former Scotland international Commons said: “Ange Postecoglou is now being linked with the managerial vacancy at Brighton and Hove Albion. When you’ve been involved in football for so long, there aren’t many things which come as a surprise.
“You learn to expect the unexpected. But I would be absolutely astonished if Postecoglou left Celtic to join Brighton. There’s NO way I can see it happening.
“He’s better than that and is capable of managing at a far higher level than Brighton. I just don’t see it as a job that will get his juices flowing.
“He’s currently managing in the Champions League and has just had 60,000 fans chanting his name after a ding-dong battle with Carlo Ancelotti and the latest band of Galacticos.
“If he were to move to Brighton, he’d be playing in front of home crowds roughly half that size, with the Amex Stadium housing just over 30,000.
“The reality is that Celtic are a far bigger and better club than Brighton. Given what he’s built at Celtic, it would be absolute madness to give it up now.”
CELTIC VIEWS…Ange Postecoglou prepares for training at Lennoxtown.
Commons, writing in his Daily Mail column, continued: “What does success look like for a club like Brighton?
“Mid-table mediocrity in the English Premier League? Maybe a decent Cup run?
“Realistically, that’s pretty much the limit for them. Graham Potter has massively overachieved with the resources available to him. It’s why he’s now landed the Chelsea job.
“At Celtic, there’s no telling how far Postecoglou can take this team. After winning the league in his debut season, he will no doubt be eyeing a domestic treble this time around.
“Europe is the one major box he still has to tick. But the performance against Real Madrid offered so much belief and positivity in terms of what Celtic can achieve this season.”
Commons added: “There’s absolutely no reason why they shouldn’t be looking to get out of this Champions League group and into the knock-out stages.
“They’ll fancy their chances against RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk.
CROWD-PLEASER…Ange Postecoglou is “idolised” by the Celtic fans, according to Kris Commons.
“Celtic gave Madrid a hell of a fright in the first-half last week. They were excellent and could easily have been two or three goals ahead by half-time.
“Madrid’s class eventually shone through, but Celtic should take so much confidence from their performance. They aren’t going to come up against players anywhere near the level of Luka Modric when they face Shakhtar and Leipzig.
“In the space of just over a year, Postecoglou has taken this team from losing to Midtjylland to giving Real Madrid a run for their money.
“His foray into the Champions League presents Postecoglou with a chance to show his talents.
“He’s building something special at Parkhead and Celtic fans absolutely idolise him.”
Postecoglou and his players step back into the spotlight in Warsaw on Wednesday when they face Shakhtar Donetsk in their second game in Group F of European football’s elite competition.
Another exciting episode awaits the manager in his Celtic revolution.
