Is Postecoglou keeping his options open over Spurs job?

But despite Tottenham link, Celtic boss insists he never plans ahead

ANGE Postecoglou could have killed the speculation stone dead. He could have paced into the media room at Celtic’s training centre yesterday and ruled himself out of the running to be the next manager of Tottenham.

He could have followed the lead of Arne Slot at Feyenoord by confirming that he still had work to do in Glasgow. He could have opened the door to a new contract at Celtic, complete with a generous pay rise, and forced Daniel Levy to move on to the next man on his shortlist.

Postecoglou didn’t do that. And a reluctance to be drawn one way or the other on his future raises an obvious suspicion.

If a chance to join Spurs presents itself, it’s one any coach has to consider seriously.

Where many wonder if his profile really fits, the Australian has confounded the doubters before.

And, if he suffers the same fate as Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo or Antonio Conte, the pay-off brings ample compensation.

Far from pledging his future to Celtic, then, he offered an assurance to supporters that life will continue when he’s no longer around.

Where he could have pulled a new Parkhead contract out of his back pocket and signed it with a flourish, he spoke instead of taking things season by season.

‘I have never charted a course for my career,’ he said. ‘There is no chance you could bridge the dots that brought me from Melbourne to Glasgow.

‘It’s not something you can do, say: “In two or three years’ time, I want to be there”.

‘The only thing I have ever done is do the job I have as well as possible, have success — and keep doing it until the circumstances change.

‘For me, right now we have a big game on Saturday. It’s an important, special day when we get the trophy.

‘Then we have the cup final. It’s a big week coming up.

‘I want to win the Treble and make it a special year, and that’s where my responsibilities lie.’ It’s difficult to turn down a job you haven’t been offered.

Where journalists speculate over Postecoglou being a preferred candidate for Spurs, the reality is that few know for sure.

Celtic have a league trophy to lift and a cup final to contest next weekend and the speculation is as untimely as it is unwelcome.

Any talks will be shunted back until the season is over and there’s time for calm reflection.

‘It’s not even about what offers I get,’ said the Celtic boss. ‘It’s about sort of how I feel or how the club feels.

‘If we don’t start well next season and we are second and you guys start putting the heat on me, then the club starts thinking about my future. That’s the reality of it, the truth.

‘I don’t live in some universe where I think I am untouchable. That’s the reality and you deal with it.

‘And that’s why I have always made sure that my efforts and consciousness is focused in the here and now.

‘I don’t worry about tomorrow. Look at the Premiership this year and how many managers started and finished the year. Not many.’

Postecoglou knows, as every manager does, how quickly the temperature can drop.

While his stock is sky-high now, a galvanised Rangers or a poor run of results in the Champions League could change the narrative when a new season gets underway.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst finished last season by leading

Rangers to a European final and winning the Scottish Cup. Inside six months he was out of a job.

‘I keep referring to Gio,’ added Postecoglou. ‘Gio won the league with Feyenoord, then got to a Europa League final with Rangers and won a Scottish Cup final and finished second in the league. And he gets the sack.

‘People don’t understand the pressure that exists here for Rangers and ourselves.

‘That’s pretty unique and the effect of that is that every week you are facing an opponent who sees you as a big scalp.’

Amongst English football supporters there is little or no appreciation of the demands at Celtic or Rangers.

When news emerged of Spurs considering an Australian, there were echoes of the reaction two years ago, when Eddie Howe performed a late U-turn and Postecoglou’s appointment at Celtic drew disbelief and derision in equal measure.

‘That’s just the nature of football,’ he admitted. ‘Everyone thinks that where they are is the centre of the universe.

‘It’s not something that has bothered me. Either people see what I do or they don’t.

‘If they want to find a reason to dismiss the success, whether that’s here or Japan or Australia, then they will find that reason.

‘Or, you could look at it and say every league is a competition and you’ve still got to beat the other teams to be champions.

‘The one thing I’ve learned is that the Scottish league isn’t an easy league.’ Postecoglou insists he is happy with his lot at Celtic. He enjoys the passion of Scottish football and claims the league is more competitive than some think.

Where fans in England celebrate goals by whipping out a mobile phone, the raw authenticity of the SPFL remains compelling and the results since winning the league demonstrate that Celtic remain a work in progress. Nothing is settled yet.

As the Australian was voted Manager of the Year by the Scottish Football Writers’ Association, print journalists returned to Celtic’s training ground for the first time in over three years yesterday.

Where Covid was the source of uncertainty before, it’s the manager’s future which furrows brows now.

‘I would never disrespect these awards because they are all representative of something, whether that’s the writers or the PFA and my peers,’ said Postecoglou. ‘I am just not a great one at reflecting on these things — I kinda move on pretty quickly.

‘They will be on the mantelpiece of whatever house we are at, and then when we move they get packed away. Then we go from there but I don’t dismiss it because it’s recognition for everyone, including people who support me.

‘I won’t sit and ponder on it. That’s not me, I just think about what’s next.’