Ange Postecoglou and his Midas Celtic touch that gets him access to exclusive Parkhead club as boss sitdown tells all

John Kennedy has been treated to a masterclass from some of Celtic’s greatest managers.

He played for Martin O’Neill and Gordon Strachan. Then he worked with Treble winners Brendan Rodgers and Neil Lennon, having started in the first team coaching role under Ronny Deila. Now there’s more expertise coming from current class act Ange Postecoglou. Kennedy has soaked up all of the football knowledge. The tactical acumen.

But it’s the human touch, the personal element, that has struck him. The manner in which the men in charge relate to their troops, create a bond and have them deliver. It’s a key trait and Kennedy sees it again every day with Postecoglou.

The former Hoops defender said: “Everyone has their own idea about how they want things to be done and how they want their team to look. Being at Celtic, they all play a similar style in terms of being attack-minded, going forward, being aggressive and dominating the game. But when you sit down with them all, what you realise is they are all very good people. And that’s what it’s all about.

“It’s not just about how you can set a team up. It’s about how you train them, how you deal with people. That’s what the best managers do and that’s something I have taken from them all.

“They all have different styles, very much so in terms of how they deal with people but they all have an empathy, a way of speaking to people to get them on board.

“When you have 25-30 players coming from different parts of the world, different cultures, being able to captivate them and give them one common purpose and goal is special in itself. All of these guys have been able to do that and that’s the biggest thing I’ve taken from them all.”

It’s a priceless schooling as he added: “Yes, I’ve been very