Ange Postecoglou and the Celtic first impression that left his future captain convinced 'from day one'

It is said you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

When it comes to Callum McGregor’s belief in Ange Postecoglou’s ability to make things happen at a Celtic on its knees, the Australian only needed one. There was doom, gloom, and an extra helping of doom, surrounding the club when the 56-year-old pitched up at it from Japan last June. Celtic’s on-field rehabilitation, following the spectacular collapse in their 10-in-a-row chasing season, was being measured in years as the previous season’s squad was on its way to being reduced to a rump, and a fractured support was causing a rumpus over the failure to land Eddie Howe. As a result, in contrast Postecoglou’s probable length of tenure in Scotland was being measured in months. Yet the Celtic captain - accorded that honour by the new manager - is unabashed about the moment he knew the hugely experienced, single-minded coach could produce something special with his no-comprises, no-excuses, brand of attacking football.

“It was when we first met him,” said the 28-year-old. “You could see his ideas and you could see what he was trying to do. He always spoke about wanting us to play a certain style. He wouldn’t change, and we had to adapt and get to that level very quickly. You could see it in him straight away that he was desperate to do well and he had the credentials to do well. When you get your recruitment spot on as well then that helps, because you’ve then got good players that can come in and play that style of football.

“From pretty early on in the season, maybe the Dundee game at home [in mid-August] where we scored six and played pretty well that day, you could start to see the cogs coming together. All the way through, even when we had little dips,