Davie Hay knows how difficult it is be in the hot seat at Celtic Park having been in charge at the club for four years.
He knows how difficult transfers can be having also served as a chief scout at Celtic in the later 1990s, playing a huge part in bringing Henrik Larsson to the club under the watchful eye of Wim Jansen.
Like many Celtic supporters, Hay has been enjoying the football played by Postecoglou’s side and has revealed who he believes to be the pick of the signings which have arrived at the club over the past year during the ‘rebuild’ which Ange had to lead.
“It must be stated straight away that the manager can spot a player,” said Davie Hay speaking exclusively to Alex Gordon in CQN.
“The quality he has brought to the club has been excellent, there can be no argument about that.
“I have always insisted a manager is judged on two things – results and transfers. Ange has delivered on both fronts so far.
“He has somehow contrived to bring in so many high calibre performers and fit them into his system. It’s been a phenomenal achievement when you stand back and spend a little time analysing the process.
“First up, he was coming from Japan to take over a side that had won nothing the previous campaign and had trailed in 25 points off the top of the table in the awful attempt to win a historic 10 in a row. That failure, of course, cost Neil Lennon his job.
“The whole place was dispirited and there was a queue of players who wanted out of the club. Scott Brown was already heading for Aberdeen at the end of his contract, Kristoffer Ajer, Odsonne Edouard and Ryan Christie were being linked with an assortment of clubs across the border while Olivier Ntcham, who could have been a big player for the club, was also clearly on his way.
“In that sort of climate, Ange may have been justified in saying he will need time, maybe a year or so, to attempt to turn things around.
“Instead, he piled pressure on himself by saying you do not get two or three years at a club such as Celtic to win trophies.
“Instantly, I liked the guy’s style.”
It says everything about how determined Ange is to succeed that he took on the job at Celtic when many wouldn’t and did so on his own, travelling to Scotland by himself with no support team of coaches around him.
“He had to rebuild and he had to do it quickly. He had some major decisions to make, too.
“Very quickly, Ange made up his mind he needed another goalkeeper and he got one of the best in Joe Hart. Now that was £1million well spent.
“He brought in an unknown Israeli 19-year-old winger and there must have been a risk factor for the manager and the player. Liel Abada was still abit of a rookie and was suddenly being asked to play in a different country in vastly contrasting conditions.
“But the youngster hit the ground running and immediately looked like £3.5million well spent.
“Others introduced in the August window were the likes of Josip Juranovic, Carl Starfelt, Giorgos Giakoumakis and James McCarthy while Cameron Carter-Vickers and Filipe Jota agreed season-long loans.
“And there was Kyogo Furuhashi, of course. What a signing he has been!
“For me, he is the pick of the bunch.”
“Kyogo came in and began playing as though he had been in the Celtic line-up all his life. He linked up play, played neat one-twos with team-mates he had just met a couple of weeks ago, fought for everything, chased down lost causes, kept pressure on his opponents and scored a nice goal, too, in a 4-2 away success.
“You only get one chance to make a first impression and he certainly took it on his Parkhead debut the following weekend when he claimed a hat-trick in the 6-0 victory over Dundee.
“Kyogo completed the campaign as Celtic’s top scorer with 20 goals – three ahead of Giakoumakis – and you can only wonder what his total would have been if his persistent hamstring problem had not forced him to miss almost 20 matches after the turn of the year.
“So, step forward and take a bow, Kyogo Furuhashi. I would have been proud to claim you as one of my own signings!”
There was a worry that when Odsonne Edouard departed the club for Crystal Palace that the Hoops may struggle to replace his goals but that hasn’t been an issue at all.
The two goals he scored in the Premier Sports Cup final were huge in the context of Celtic’s season winning the first trophy under Ange.
Many Celtic fans have taken Kyogo to their hearts and will continue to thrive playing under Ange Postecoglou.
We are yet to see too much of him playing with Daizen Maeda due to the hamstring injury he sustained just before new year.
Both men were top level performers in the J-League and international teammates that will likely be a good fit for each others style as they are always one step ahead of the opposition.
