Jackson explains how Beale’s mind games have rattled Ange’s cage!

Keith Jackson has been explaining to Daily Record readers how Micky Beale has rattled Ange Postecoglou’s cage.

With eight wins and one draw in the SPFL Premiership, a place in the Viaplay Cup booked and three January signings completed life inside the Celtic manager’s cage seems pretty tranquil.

During the week three Daily Record reporters discussed how Beale had got under Postecoglou’s skin, it seems to be something of a theme at the Glasgow based publisher to suggest that the hoops boss is under pressure from the third manager that he has faced from Ibrox in 18 months.

As Celtic fans know their manager completely dismisses the noise, sideshows and media distractions, his focus is solely on his squad of players, how to improve each player and how to add quality to his squad.

One SPFL defeat and three draws during 2022 suggest that his ways are delivering results with the early signs in 2023 suggesting that things aren’t on the verge of falling apart.

Picking up on the word lucky that apparently has unnerved the Celtic boss, Jackson tells Daily Record readers:

What’s luck got to do with it? Well, had Eddie Howe’s feet not turned to ice at the thought of taking on the task of rebuilding Celtic then Postecoglou would probably still be ‘playing his football’ on the other side of the planet rather than bringing half the Far East with him to Glasgow.

After that put down he gets into his stride praising the work of Beale who has won six of his nine matches in charge by a single goal while Celtic strengthen their goal difference advantage to plus 23 as well as nine points.

All the noise in the world isn’t distracting Postecoglou who has complete focus on getting the maximum out of his squad, knowing that he has no influence or control over things outside of Celtic.

Jackson later adds:

If Kent can be persuaded to hang around for a season or two and the likes of Cantwell, Whittaker and Raskin are added to the squad for the remainder of the current campaign, then Beale will have played his hand perfectly. He may have planted his tongue inside his cheek when he branded Postecoglou a lucky man the other week and rattled the big man’s cage in the process.

In terms of results and behaviour Postecoglou is completely unaffected by the mind games of the rookie manager across the city, regardless of the importance that certain publishers are placing on Beale’s words.

It seems that Beale’s claim that Aberdeen is the third best team in Scotland has escaped Jackson’s notice even if it has been noted by the players and fans of Hearts and Livingston.