Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou explains secrets behind his success

The current Scottish top-flight campaign is hardly Ange Postecoglou’s first rodeo.

That’s precisely why the Celtic manager knows that winning titles isn’t about slipping into the saddle and holding on amidst the buckerooing. It is about tightening the grip as that reaches a crescendo.

The league championship that the Australian claimed for previous club Yokohama F Marinos in 2019 was the product of the club winning their final seven games to clinch it on the last day. His title successes with Brisbane Roar and South Melbourne earlier in his career required his team to peak in the closing weeks with these honours settled in play-off finals. If Postecoglou appears sanguine then about the possibility of any wobbles by his Celtic team in the aftermath of their Scottish Cup semi-final loss to Rangers last weekend, such past experiences could serve as explanation. Postecoglou maintains he hasn’t been the beneficiary of good fortune in his teams tending to finish league campaigns firmly on the up. Instead, he considers such conclusions to have been manifestations of his methods; prize progress delivered through planning for it.

Five post-split games stand between Celtic and the cinch Premiership title, starting with their trip to the Highlands to face Ross County on Sunday. A six-point advantage over a Rangers side they will host next weekend means the club’s tenth title in 11 years effectively could only be two wins away. Postecoglou is of the mind that his team could require to win four of their last five. And he is comfortable with matters being in their hands and requiring them not to falter.

“I’ve tried wherever I’ve been to create programmes and environments where you play your best football at the end of the year,” said