The beginning of the season seems almost a lifetime ago.

So much has happened since then, harkening back to a time when we just lost out on Eddie Howe and brought in Ange seems so peculiar.

The Howe deal failed over his unwillingness to move to the football club without his own coaches. Celtic gave the Englishman that chance but then Eddie and his coaches got cold feet.

Neil Lennon wasn’t allowed to pick his own coaches upon his return to the club after Brendan Rodgers left. The Irishman was given John Kennedy and Damien Duff, to begin with before Damien left for Ireland and Gavin Strachan was brought in.

One major thing Celtic fans agreed on at the start of the season – Ange should come in with his own men and his own ideas. After last term and the way things went under Neil, John and Gavin, the fans wanted a clean break from the old regime.

We didn’t get that clean break and Ange was regularly asked if he would be bringing in any of his own coaches. Fans were convinced the board had forced Ange to stick with Strahan and Kennedy

Speaking to OptaSports, Ange spoke about the earlier days of this campaign and made it clear he wanted to keep the coaching staff already in place:

“We ended up bringing 15 transfers in two windows

“Then there was also the way people felt around the club after such a disappointing year last year.

“I inherited the staff, and wanted to keep the same staff moving through

“That for me was the side I wanted to put emphasis on.

“It was just about, I had areal energy when I came in because I was affected by what happened last year. What I tried to give everyone was a little bit of that energy, give them hope.

“Whether it was supporters, players, just to give them hope that we can have success straight away”

Ange seems like the sort of man who will give people a chance to show their worth. I have no doubt, if the Australian believed any of the coaches around him weren’t up to the task, he’d have moved them on.

Instead, Ange has really helped bring out the best in both John, Gavin and the rest of the team at Lennoxtown. Having one manager of the month three times, Ange has made sure all the guys helping behind the scenes got recognition.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.