After the last few seasons Celtic fans are getting used to the idea of signing players that can fit straight into the team and make an impact.
Three of the four players signed by Ange Postecoglou in January have made a telling contribution in taking Celtic to the top of the Premiership with the other, Yosuke Guchi, booted off the park on his debut at Alloa.
Focussing on projects and players that might be sold for a profit to Southampton finally caught up on the club last season as too much was asked of a diminishing core with a few of them looking to move on to richer clubs elsewhere.
Marian Shved, Boli Bolingoli, Jack Hendry, Vakoun Bayo, Luca Connell, Ismaila Soro and Patryk weren’t ready to step up.
Postecoglou revived players like Tony Ralston and Tom Rogic, Callum McGregor no longer has the weight of the world on his shoulders with supporters marvelling at names they hadn’t heard of a year ago.
It almost seems too good to be true, there is no miracle formulae to recruitment with Postecoglou explaining his common sense approach to transfers during an interview with Stan Sports in Australia.
Getting the right players is key ?
“I have an absolute clarity about how I want my team to play”#StanSportAU pic.twitter.com/We0tygcNsi
— Stan Sport Football (@StanSportFC) February 14, 2022
It comes from having a real clear idea of how you want the game to be played. I’ve often said that I could go into a shop with my wife and she’ll know exactly what to pick up and buy — and mate, I’ve got no idea!
When I go looking for players I’m the same. I’ve got a real clear idea.
When I see what I want, I picture them in my team and when they fit that picture, most of the time it works. It comes back to the first thing being I have absolute clarity about how I want my team to play, what quality each player should have in each position.
And that should make it easier for the players as well because they’ve already got some of the things I’m looking for, so their adjustment period becomes quicker.
The players I’ve brought in have hit the ground running and people ask, ‘Why so quickly?’.
But it’s because I already know they’ve got the attributes I want and the rest is just understanding the game plan.
I knew getting the right players was going to be the first critical part of what I’m trying to create and how I will be judged in history.
If I signed players that didn’t fit, it was going to be hard. I wanted to make sure the players fitted the ideology of the team I want us to be.
They also had to hit the right demographic in terms of their ages. That was all important.
It’s always been a big part of what I do. You can’t have square pegs in round holes. It’s not just about getting talented footballers, it’s about getting people who fit into my football
Two windows in and Celtic supporters are believing again rather than hoping that the next obscure signing from Israel or Easter Europe doesn’t go the way of Soro, Bayo or Klimala.
no mention of where mc carthy is supposed to fit in
I wonder what Lawwells ideology was? Bonus first attributes second I would think.
Good to see the players picked by a manager that knows what he’s looking for, rather than accountant that thought he was director of football with one eye on his bonus.