Celtic are in advanced talks with Ange Postecoglou after negotiations broke down with Eddie Howe; Craig Moore, who worked as an advisor for Postecoglou during his stint as Australia boss at the 2014 World Cup, compared the current Yokohama F. Marinos boss to Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola
Tuesday 1 June 2021 12:25, UK
Ange Postecoglou could be announced as the new Celtic manager in the next few days, according to former Rangers defender Craig Moore.
Celtic are in advanced talks with the former Australia boss after negotiations broke down with Eddie Howe with the board searching for a replacement to Neil Lennon who resigned in February.
The club hope to conclude a deal for their next manager by the middle of next week after being impressed by Postecoglou's domestic and international success in Australia and Japan.
Moore, who worked as an advisor for Postecoglou at the 2014 World Cup and Asian Cup in 2015, believes a deal for the current Yokohama F. Marinos boss is close to being finalised.
"For a deal to happen here you're talking days not weeks," Moore told Sky Sports News.
"Like any deal, there's some behind the scenes stuff, whether that's compensation - he is under contract at his current club in Japan - so again I expect a conclusion for this deal, if it was going to happen, in days not weeks."
Moore has backed Postecoglou to get the right players in at Celtic after questioning the manager's status as an "unknown".
"People think he's a bit of an unknown, I think that's a little bit ignorant to be honest because if you do a little bit of research you'll see he's been successful wherever he's been," Moore added.
"He's won trophies, and certainly in terms of recruitment and being able to attract the right player at Celtic, Ange definitely has those networks."
Moore listed Premier League quartet Jurgen Klopp, Marcelo Bielsa, Thomas Tuchel and Pep Guardiola as managers who compare to Postecoglou in terms of style.
"Ange Postecoglou is a very proactive coach in terms of the style and brand of football he likes to play. The likes of Klopp, Bielsa, Tuchel, even Guardiola," Moore said.
"He really likes his teams to play football in the right way. His teams need to have a lot of energy, to work extremely hard for that style to be effective. He always looks to play out from the back.
"He's a very ambitious coach. At times coming from Australia that can work against you a little bit, but Ange has got a real drive to do extremely well. He seems to get the best out of players. It could be very exciting and a wonderful opportunity for Ange if he is announced."
