Ange Postecoglou's Celtic 'second season syndrome' shrugged off as insider claims Parkhead boss won't stop

Steven McGarry insists ‘second season syndrome’ might be an issue for the rest of Scottish football – but it won’t be for Ange Postecoglou ’s Celtic.

That former midfielder was at Perth Glory when the gaffer began to make his name at Brisbane Roar with back-to-back A-League titles.

Since then it has been a success-filled road with Australia, Yokohama Marinos in the J-League and now in Scotland.

Postecoglou has been like a breath of fresh air as he picked Celtic and turned them into double winners - who are now guaranteed a crack a spot in the Champions League group stage.

The question now is how far will the 56-year-old be able to take the Hoops?

McGarry, who had spells with St Mirren, Ross County and Motherwell, said: “Ange is never the type of coach to stand still. He’s always been quite innovative in terms of formation, tactics and styles.

“He’s not afraid to try new things and to mix things up.

“As an opposition coach or manager, it is hard to second guess him because he is constantly trying to evolve and make his teams and players better.

“Ange’s teams definitely get stronger with every season. They won a couple A-Leagues when he was at Brisbane.

“He kept them winning at Roar and it’s hard in Australia because there is a salary cap and a lot of the teams have similar budgets and then it becomes more about your tactics and your recruitment.

“There are so many aspects that Ange can tweak and will use to his advantage.”

Key to Celtic’s success is Postecoglou’s recruitment – Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Kyogo Furuhashi, and Yosuke Ideguchi all arrived from the J-League and a market he knew well, while Carl Starfelt, Liel Abada, Matt O’Riley, Josip Juranovic and Joe Hart settled quickly within his system.

There have