ANGE POSTECOGLOU and Odsonne Edouard will be in opposite camps when Spurs take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park tonight.
The former Celtic boss and the one-time Hoops fans’ favourite striker are on a collision course in an intriguing match-up in the Premier League London derby.
The last time Postecoglou and Edouard were together on a football park was at Ibrox on August 29 2021 where the visitors lost 1-0 in the Greek-Australian gaffer’s fourth Premiership game after being named as Neil Lennon’s long-term replacement two months earlier.
Edouard, who scored three goals in his few outings for the new boss, was sold to Palace for £19.8million two days later before the transfer window closed.
FINAL FAREWELL…Ange Postecoglou’s last appearance as Celtic manager as he proudly holds aloft the Scottish Cup after the 3-1 win over Inverness Caley Thistle at Hampden on June 3.
Now the French hitman is aiming to inflict a first league defeat on table-topping Postecoglou and his team who have gone nine games unbeaten since his June arrival.
One man who is not stunned at the success of the ex-Hoops team chief is this evening’s rival in the dug-out, former England international supremo Roy Hodgson.
With many critics expressing suprise about how Postecoglou has fitted in at the top-flight across the border, the veteran chief said: “It depends on what you mean by adaptation to the Premier League.
“I think needing time to adapt to the Premier League is more relevant to players than coaches or managers.
OOPS…Odsonne Edouard misses a sitter in his final outing for Celtic in the derby encounter at Ibrox on August 29 2021. Robbie McCrorie and Connor Goldson are the relieved opponents.
“I think sometimes they do, especially when they come from a different country, come from abroad, a totally different culture, because of the intensity of the Premier League, the fierceness, the lack of time and space that’s there for you and the physicality, that can be very different to a player.”
Hodgson, speaking in a report in the Daily Record, added: “Coming from Celtic, playing in front of 60,000 or 70,000 people every week, being in the Champions League, coaching Australia, being at the very best club in Japan, I don’t know if you need a lot of adaptation to come to the Premier League.
“He might have been a bit of an unknown or a surprise to a lot of people in the country, but he certainly was no surprise to me.”
