Ange casts a Celtic return shadow until Brendan Rodgers cracks a light on sticky contract situation

Daily Record

13 hours ago

Ange Postecoglou told everyone he always delivers in the second season and was true to his word.
He also promised Tottenham fans the third was going to be a blockbuster – only for his show to get cancelled.
Football isn't a funny old game these days, it's a brutal one.
Postecoglou getting the mallet soon after securing the first piece of silverware at Tottenham in 17 years just about sums it up.
There's gratitude for you. An open top bus and then launched under it.
The big Aussie might be better off out of there anyway and you'd think it won't be long before his phone rings again with some club chairman or owner somewhere fancying an adventure.
And you just know there will be a fair few folk in these parts who will be hoping the call comes from the east end of Glasgow.
It didn't take long for Celtic fans to join some of the dots. Brendan Rodgers is going into the final year of his contract and there's a suspicion the Irishman will decide the three year second stint is plenty.
Hoops fans would be more than happy to let Ange lie on the beach for a year enjoying his Spurs pay-off before welcoming him back to Parkhead.
It all sounds so seamless – but in reality even the suggestion would create instability.
The longer Postecoglou sits out of work, the bigger shadow he'd cast over Parkhead. And this is the problem with Rodgers keeping his cards close to his chest too.
The longer he stays silent on his future, the more folk will be second guessing.
The second there's a goalless draw at Easter Road or, worse, a loss to Rangers, a section of the support will jerk the knees and jump on it and be talking about getting big Ange back sharpish.
The whole managerial issue was always going to be a total distraction this coming season but it will be a whole level of awkwardness if the former gaffer is sitting idle.
Rodgers said a few times he'll sit down with Dermot Desmond over the summer and see where they all are and what the plan is for next term and beyond.
If the boss thinks this is his last dance, it might be better making it public and gearing up to going out with a bang.
If he's undecided and wants to see how he feels down the line, it could create that uncertainty that can cause problems. It's a sticky one.
Postecoglou himself could make it easier – and he could do Celtic and Rodgers a favour – by declaring he's not interested in making a return at any time, he wants to stay in England or try his luck on the continent.
Taking himself off the board would be a slight boot in the delicates to punters but it would be a heck of a lot less hassle for his old club in the short term.
Postecoglou will do what suits himself, mind you. That's how he rolls. He's been pretty ruthless with his career decisions over the years and you can bet an Aussie buck if he's won a trophy in his first season at Spurs and then Liverpool came calling post Klopp, he would have been at Anfield in a heartbeat.
Quite right too. It's a two way street and survival of the fittest. Daniel Levy didn't show him any sentiment, despite the manager delivering the goods.
Postecoglou gets the game too and has the ability to be cold and clinical. He raced out of Celtic when his big chance of a crack at the EPL came, but you can hardly blame him.
It was a lifetime ambition to manage at that level and become the first Aussie to achieve it.
Yet he's admitted there is still a connection with Celtic. It was Desmond who was the first European bigwig to take the punt and give him his chance, and set him on his way on this side of the planet.
No one expected the Irish money man to be able to talk Rodgers into coming back, so anything is possible.