Ange thanks Eddie Howe for Celtic cold feet as he reveals emotional realisation after landing Parkhead top job

Thankful Ange Postecoglou admits Eddie Howe's last-minute Celtic U-turn put him on the path to realising a lifelong ambition of making waves in Europe.

The 57-year-old emerged as a left-field candidate hours after the Englishman said no to becoming the next boss after months of talks between himself and Parkhead power brokers. And Postecoglou admits Howe's cold feet over succeeding Neil Lennon opened up a path he had been craving to explore since he embarked on his coaching career back in Australia.

In a wide-ranging interview with Gary Lineker for Football Focus, he said: “I’ve got to thank Eddie Howe because that was pretty much done. At the end, Eddie, for a number of reasons, just didn’t feel comfortable taking the role. They’d gone so far down the path of him being appointed that it was really late."

And he admits the call to rejuvenate a Celtic team who finished a whopping 25 points behind Rangers in the 20/21 season was exactly the opportunity he had been relishing. And Postecoglou didn't look back with five trophies in two seasons and wowing punters with his brand of play known as Angeball.

He added: “Yeah, I did. I was looking forward to it because it was the bit that was missing. I’d had the success but I hadn’t had it in a place where I knew it could be impactful. I wanted to be in that environment. It was a moment. Me and my wife just sat there saying ‘It’s happening. At the age of 55, it was happening.”