‘I’M A HUGE ANGE FAN. HE SUITS THE CLUB SO WELL,’ EX-ENGLAND ACE HAILS CELTIC BOSS

FORMER England international midfielder Trevor Sinclair realised a lifelong ambition when he pulled on the green and white hoops for the Celtic legends against their Liverpool counterparts at Anfield at the weekend.

The 12 times-capped one-time Blackpool, West Ham, Queens Park Rangers and Manchester City star was delighted to be asked to participate in the charity event.

Manager Paul Lambert wasn’t too happy with some refereeing decisions which saw the hosts win 2-0 with a dodgy penalty-kick and a handball effort, but the main thing for Sinclair was just to be out there and making his debut at the age of 50!

Sinclair’s stepdad is Hoops crazy and his late mother was from Sligo and the talented youngster was hooked from an early age.

The Londoner is an admitted admirer of Ange Postecoglou and said: “Could he leave a legend? Absolutely – as long as it’s not in the middle of the season, I’ll say no more on that!

“Listen, he’s been brilliant for the football club. He’s a very humble man, I think he’s quite shy actually. You see his speech after winning the first championship – We. Never. Stop – it’s almost like a motto for the football club now.

“I absolutely love the club from top to bottom and it’s great to have someone like him in charge.

“The style of football will attract a lot of Premier League interest.”

Sinclair continued: “Then there’s the way he’s so competent in front of the media, he sticks up for himself and the football club, speaks really well.

“He won’t let journalists or anyone bully him. From the moment he walked through the door, I’ve been so impressed with him. I spoke to a few of the boys and I don’t think he’s the most social, a bit standoffish.

“So, obviously he holds his court and his rules in place.

“Long may it continue. How much boys are playing for him shows how much they respect him and what he brings to the table.”

Sinclair, speaking to the Daily Record, added: “I’m a huge Ange fan. He suits the club so well.

“I remember playing against Celtic as a kid of about 14 or 15 at Blackpool and it was exactly that – the Celtic way.

“They passed us off the park, no-one was taking more than two touches on the ball and we got beat 4-0. I always thought: ‘What a great club and philosophy’.

“Ange has brought that in. The recruitment has been outstanding, the team spirit and, obviously, the success means a lot. For him to turn it round so quickly and the recruitment to be so successful, he deserves every credit.

“Hopefully, we can keep him a lot longer. His principles, his fundamentals, he suits the club down to a tee.

“I’m really pleased with how he’s turned things around for Celtic.”

An estimated 5,000 Celtic fans made the trip to Merseyside to swell the crowd to around 48,000 for a good cause.

Now it’s back to business as Postecoglou prepares his squad for the trip to Dingwall on Sunday for the match against Ross County.