'Exactly where I wanted to be': Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou's first impression of Lennoxtown and Scotland

Ange Postecoglou says arriving in Glasgow has hit home the reality of his role as Celtic manager.

New Celtic Manager Ange Postecoglou during his first day at Lennoxtown on June 23, 2021, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

The Australian was appointed Neil Lennon’s successor earlier this month but had to follow quarantine protocols after flying to the UK from Japan ahead of starting work.

This morning he touched down in Glasgow to be met by Celtic CEO Dominic McKay and has looked around the Lennoxtown training ground ahead of pre-season beginning.

Seeing the set-up hammered home the reality of his new role – and Postecoglou is keen to meet his new staff and colleagues to begin imparting his philosophy.

“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind and I knew it wouldn’t sink in that I’m the new Celtic manager until I got here. Now I can get cracking and start working,” he told the club website.

“Ultimately, people want to get to know me. It’s one thing to have ideas and talk about what you want to do but people need to meet me and understand me as a person as much as a manager. You can’t do that unless you meet people in person and we’ll start that process now.”

The players are due to report back to kick off the new campaign preparations in a matter of days and seeing the facilities in person crystallised Postecoglou’s vision beyond the online meetings he’s been conducting until now.

He added: "I got to meet everyone and put everything in place that we need to. It’s been fantastic. I already had some familiarity with it but it’s a great set-up. The people here are fantastic and I’m looking forward to working with everyone.“I’m not a fan of Zoom even though it’s been our existence for 18 months so I was keen to get here as soon as possible. I had to do quarantine and make sure we followed all the protocols but being here now is exactly where I wanted to be.”

It’s not just the facilities that have impressed the Australian, and he added: “Everyone keeps warning me about the weather but it all looks pretty beautiful at the moment.”

Postecoglou’s first competitive match in charge will be against FC Midtjylland in the Champions League qualifiers next month.

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