Ange Postecoglou has returned to the dugout, and the entertainment factor has just increased.
The Celtic hero was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur in the summer, despite helping the London club win the Europa League, and has been quickly brought back in by Nottingham Forest.
Postecoglou’s success at Celtic can’t be doubted, and very few people, if anyone, questioned what he did once he got going.
But during Postecoglou’s time in the Premier League, he has been questioned a lot more, including his style of play, as Roy Keane shared his thoughts.
Roy Keane on Ange Postecoglou’s tactics at Celtic
Forest have gone from defending deep and playing counter-attacking football under Nuno Espirito Santo to now bringing in Postecoglou, who prefers his fullbacks to play like number tens.
It was questioned on the Overlap whether Celtic’s Treble-winning coach can implement his style on Forest, and change it so quickly and abruptly.
Keane went back to Postecoglou’s time at Celtic, not what happened on the domestic stage, because the champions of Scotland can go ‘gung-ho’ and beat everyone.
But the legendary midfielder proceeded to mention Postecoglou’s tactics in Europe and how he ‘wouldn’t change for anybody’, and then it proceeded to ‘backfire.’
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Gary Neville: “I was thinking before, about the biggest style shift you could ever get. And I’m thinking like Louis van Gaal to Jose Mourinho (at Manchester United), in terms of they completely changed the whole dynamic.
“Louis van Gaal signed all these technical players, and all of a sudden, you’ve got Jose Mourinho. The (Nottingham Forest) players are going to have an absolute shock. They’ve been playing quite a deep line defence. They have been playing counter-attacking.”
Keane: “These managers can be stubborn. I know, obviously, he did at Spurs, but remember, he did at Celtic. I don’t mean in league matches, because Celtic can be gung-ho in league matches.
“But in Europe, he played a lot of big teams and wouldn’t change for nobody. It backfired at Celtic, but he will argue, that’s my way, that’s my motto and that’s how I’ve ended up getting these good jobs, with Spurs and winning the odd trophy.”
Postecoglou’s record in Europe with Celtic
Prior to the previous campaign, when UEFA revamped their format, Celtic weren’t having a great time of it on the European stage.
So, Postecoglou’s struggles were nothing new, and given that Celtic crashed out of the Champions League under Brendan Rodgers this term, it further proves the point.
But this was Postecoglou’s record with Celtic in Europe, including qualifiers: