ANGE POSTECOGLOU is the “obvious choice” to take over from Brendan Rodgers as Celtic manager.
That’s the verdict of former Hoops goal hero Chris Sutton after the bombshell news late last night that the Irishman had quit the struggling champions.
The friction between the directors and the dug-out has heightened in recent months and that has sparked a revolt among fans who have turned their venom towards the boardroom.
Breaking point wasn’t far away and Rodgers, in his third and final year of his contract as second-time around team boss, left Parkhead under cover of the night and former gaffer Martin O’Neill, 73, has been named as interim chief, assisted by Shaun Maloney.
WINNER…Brendan Rodgers goes out on a high as he holds aloft the Scottish Cup to complete the treble in his second and final year as Celtic boss in 2023.
The team were knocked out of the money spinning Champions League at the qualifying stage by the Kazakhstan minnows Kairat Almaty and are eight points adrift of Hearts in the Premiership after Sunday’s disappointing 3-1 loss at Tynecastle.
O’Neill, who won seven trophies and was in charge of the team for five years after arriving in the summer of 2000, will prove to be “a really smart appointment”, according to his former player Sutton.
But it is Postecoglou who figures in the media pundit’s longer term thoughts after the Greek-Australian’s previous two-year stint that led to the team being rejuvenated and five trophies delivered after the barren 2020/21 season.
He was lured to Spurs where he was sacked after two years, despite winning the Europa League, and he was recently dismissed by Nottingham Forest in sensational fashion after just 39 days in charge.
Sutton said: “I think Ange Postecoglou would be a really smart appointment. He was loved the first time round.
“His brand of football went down well in Glasgow. He’s out of work. I think that would be a pretty obvious choice, a good choice and bring a lot of positivity back to Celtic, which they need right now.”
Looking at the big picture and the parting of the ways for Rodgers at the club the one-time England international striker continued: “I don’t think it’s a complete shock.
THE LONG WALK…Brendan Rodgers after Celtic’s loss to Dundee at Dens Park.
“I wrote a column at the weekend that Brendan, with some of the stuff he’s said in the recent past, wants out of the club.
“There’s clearly been a breakdown in his relationship with the club hierarchy. It all stems from before the start of the season, when Brendan went public and was critical about the lack of quality coming into the club.
“I think he felt let down by that.
“Celtic then get knocked out of the Champions League qualifier, it’s been a really slow start to the season, and they’ve lost quality players in the recent past and haven’t replaced them.
“I think he felt he wasn’t backed.”
Sutton, speaking to Sky Sports, remarked: “Reading the Dermot Desmond statement, it is very critical of Brendan.
“In many ways, when there’s a relationship breakdown, which there clearly has been between Brendan and the club hierarchy, then it’s inevitable that something would have to give, and Brendan has ended up walking away.
“It will be really interesting to see if Brendan responds to Dermot Desmond’s statement. It’s pretty damaging and Brendan’s obviously got his right of reply. It hasn’t ended well.
“I think everybody suspected that things weren’t right, but let’s also get it right – the board are not blameless in this whole situation.
“Celtic were in a really strong position when you go back to the earlier part of this year. They played Bayern Munich, nearly knocked them out of the Champions League, and the club was on a bit of a high.
“I think everybody expected the club, albeit losing quality players, to go quite strong in the summer in terms of player recruitment. That didn’t happen.
FANS’ FAVOURITE…Martin O’Neill waves to the adoring Celtic support.
“The manager was unhappy about that and the start of the season has been really woeful.
“Celtic are in a position where their frontline is a shadow of what it once was in the recent past and eight points behind Hearts now at the top of the league.
“The club’s in a bit of a pickle and Brendan’s decided to walk and it’s probably the best thing for the club if the relationship was that bad.”
Sutton added: “I understand the appointment of Martin O’Neill because he’s a very popular manager. He was my manager when I first went up to Celtic and he is loved by the supporters.
“Had the club handed the role to just Shaun Maloney, I think a lot of the supporters would have been unhappy about that. They’ve now got a figurehead and a front piece.
“I suppose the biggest question is, who’s going to be the next permanent Celtic manager? Who are they going to go for next?
HAPPY DAZE…Chris Sutton and John Hartson celebrate a goal during the Martin O’Neill era.
“It’s not going to be an easy situation because the squad is decimated with injuries to key players and there’s not the strength and depth. The team will come under a fair bit of pressure.
“There’s a League Cup semi-final against Rangers, which is absolutely massive. All those games coming up are massive.
“In the short term, Martin O’Neill doesn’t have an easy task on his hands with what he’s taking over.
“I think that the support will be happy that Martin has come back because he was loved in his time as manager there.
“He turned the tables and his era was the beginning of Celtic’s dominance in Scottish football. He will go in and try and do what he did first time round.
“Try and galvanise the club, try to bring the support and everybody, the staff at the club and hierarchy all pulling in the same direction.”
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