Ange Postecoglou doesn't want Celtic cup shock stain on his CV with 'pertinent question' shelving Tottenham chat

He admits he’s never thought of himself as an underdog but Ange Postecoglou recalls when he had no option but to confront that reality.

Which is why he is treading warily ahead of this evening’s Scottish Cup Final with so-called no-hopers Inverness Caledonian Thistle. The Celtic boss has walked in Billy Dodds’ shoes. He knows what it’s like to be written off before a ball has been kicked and recognises how that scenario can make the underdog snarl and strain at the leash just a little more strenuously.

Postecoglou’s job is to avoid being bitten and remembering how he felt in January 2000 – three weeks before Inverness went ballistic at Parkhead to knock Celtic out of the Scottish and send John Barnes to the dole queue – will, he hopes, keep him out of harm’s way. The first ever World Club Championships, held in football-crazy Rio de Janeiro, and Postecoglou’s South Melbourne part-timers were locking horns with Manchester United and Brazilian kings Vasco da Gama, in arguably the most iconic stadium on the planet – the Maracana. And, the Australian remembers with a smile, a remit to avoid the predicted hammerings that FIFA feared would kill in its infancy the credibility of its fancy, shiny new tournament.

Sir Alex Ferguson had caused outrage in England by pulling Manchester United from the FA Cup. The eyes of the world were on Rio and South Melbourne, who had qualified by winning the Oceanic Cup in Fiji, were thrown in at the deep end.

They lost 2-0 against both big guns and suffered a 3-1 defeat to Mexican outfit Nexaca but were hailed for saving the tournament.

Asked if he recalled Celtic’s 3-1 defeat at the hands of Inverness the same season, Postecoglou said: “I do remember it. I was surrounded by Celtic fans at the