Celtic has officially announced that manager Ange Postecoglou has left the club to join Tottenham Hotspur, in search of a new challenge.
The club expressed its gratitude for Postecoglou’s five trophies and wished him well in his future endeavours. He leaves with the club’s best wishes, despite his relatively short stint at Parkhead, with a lot still to achieve with the side.
The process of appointing a new manager for Celtic has already started, with candidates being sounded out.
Celtic Chief Executive, Michael Nicholson, praised Postecoglou’s energy, determination, and the phenomenal level of success he brought to the club.
In an official club statement, he said:
“It has been a pleasure working with Ange, a great football manager and a good man. He has served the Club with such energy and determination and delivered a phenomenal level of success.
“I would like to thank him for all he has given us and I wish Ange and his family the very best for the future in everything they do.”
He added that he was keen to keep Postecoglou at the club:
“Of course, we wanted Ange to stay with us at Celtic and while there is real disappointment that we are losing him, he has decided he wants to look at a new challenge, which we respect.
“As Treble-winning champions, the Club looks ahead with confidence to the future, with many exciting opportunities ahead. The Club appreciates the tremendous support from Celtic fans this season and we will continue to build from this position of unity and strength.”
Peter Lawwell, who was responsible for bringing Ange Postecoglou to the club two years ago thanked Ange for his ‘fantastic’ success during his two-year stint at the club.
“Against any measure, Ange has delivered a fantastic level of success to Celtic and we thank him for his brilliant contribution to the Club during the past two years.
“We were delighted to bring Ange to Celtic. He is a special manager who has had success wherever he has been and someone who brought to the club attacking, stylish and winning football in the best traditions of Celtic.
“Of course, we are disappointed that Ange has decided to leave the Club, and we did all we could to keep him with us well into the future, but he wanted to take this new opportunity and we wish Ange well in this and everything else he does.
“Now our focus is very much on ensuring we move forward positively and do all we can to ensure that we maintain our dominant position in Scottish football and also prepare for the exciting European challenges which lie ahead.”
Celtic’s focus now lies in the search for a new manager, with the right appointment crucial as they set out to defend every domestic trophy in Scotland next season. Already, many managers have been linked to the now vacant job, but there is no clear front-runner yet.
Brendan Rodgers, who was heavily linked to a return, is keen to take a break from football, ultimately ruling him out.
