'I don't really care': Ange Postecoglou shrugs off Celtic's 'soap opera for the masses' after ex-player's comments

Eyebrow-raising comments from the recently departed Josip Juranovic in which he declared himself “sad Celtic didn’t try to keep me” were always likely to provoke a furrowed-brow and a funny from Ange Postecoglou.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou chose not to address directly Josip Juranovic claim the club had been quick to move him on and merely reiterated the need to be "aggressive" in constantly turning over his squad in the constant drive for improvement. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

The Australian did not disappoint on that front, with a “soap opera for the masses” summation one to add to his collection of arch responses. The Celtic manager’s appraisal of an interview given by the now Union Berlin right-back on a £7.5million move that ended a hugely successful year-and a half stint in Scotland could be read as the 57-year-old having moved on with gratitude and bemusement the Croatian full-back had chosen not to do likewise and instead pick over the recent past. A place that tends not to be so much a foreign country for him as a galaxy far, far away. Juranovic, who praised Postecoglou and described his old club as “one true love”, was hardly banished to a moon planet in being afforded the chance to make good the ambition to operate one of the big five set-ups. No less than a Bundesliga his new team are among the leading pack within.

“I don’t really care, to be honest,” said Postecoglou of the defender’s surprise at the circumstances surrounding his exit. “Josip was outstanding for us for 18 months. He won trophies and represented his country at a World Cup. Now he has gone on and he is doing fantastically well and I couldn’t be happier for him. We continue on our journey now. The rest of it is just a soap opera for the masses.

“We are a football club that is consistently trying to be successful. I said previously that we have to be really aggressive in the way that we push this squad to another level because we still believe we need to improve and get better and the only way you can do that is to make sure that you are constantly looking to improve and reinvest in the squad. From our perspective, there are players who left in January after contributing to this football club and that is all we want. They have gone on with our best wishes but my role is to reinvest that money and to try to make us a stronger team.”