It’s just me mate- The dressing room no go area for a cranky 56-year-old

Ange Postecoglou has explained why he steers clear of the Celtic dressing room on match day. 

The Australian has very definite views on management and is delivering results on and off the park at Celtic with full buy-in from players and supporters. 

There is a clear generation gap between Postecoglou and his players, rather than trying to bridge that as one of the lads the Celtic boss keeps a wary distance as he hands responsibility for the build-up over to his players. 

The football training ground, the dug-out and the pitch are all subject to media access but in the hour before kick off the preparations of the players is out of bounds with the new Celtic manager only making an appearance before sending his side out for action. 

As ever with Postecoglou there is an element of self-deprecating, describing himself as a cranky middle-aged man but there is no doubting the impact of his managerial style as well as the substance.

 

19 minutes 20 seconds 

It’s just me mate. I’ve always said that you’ve just got to be yourself. Even when I talk to young coaches and managers I say ‘just be yourself’. Don’t try and copy what I do, this is just a natural fit for me. 

I think that the dressing room, it is just my belief, that is the players domain. That is the players area, they should be in charge, they should feel comfortable in there. They shouldn’t have a 55 or 56-year-old cranky guy walking around telling them that they should pick their rubbish up or change the music that they’re playing. 

It is about giving them their space, they are preparing for a game, I don’t want to get in the way, I’ve done my bit during the week, my role on game day is to do other things.