Alex Jones 
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Pundit and columnist Keith Jackson feels that Ange Postecoglou has missed a trick at Celtic to ensure that cast-iron promises were made to him over the resources afforded to him.
Writing in the Daily Record, Jackson discussed the record of one of his predecessors in Brendan Rodgers – now at Leicester – in securing key club changes on his own terms.
Under Rodgers, the club ensured the Northern Irish tactician had a relatively full complement of backroom staff to his liking whilst the club also backed him with the signing of Scott Sinclair on a four-year deal.
The pair worked together at both Chelsea and Swansea when Sinclair was a young prospect and was hand-picked by the ex-Bhoys boss as a result.
Conversely, Jackson has argued that Postecoglou’s ‘headlong rush’ to up sticks to Glasgow and make a move to Celtic has caused him to forget ‘the first rule of negotiations according to page one of the manager’s handbook’.
Writing in the Record, Jackson claimed:
“Brendan Rodgers knows [the rule] off by heart and the Northern Irishman has quoted it on more than one occasion since opting to up sticks for Leicester – the decision which triggered this entire series of unfortunate events.
It is Rodgers’ unshakable belief that any manager is at his most powerful in the days, hours and minutes preceding the signing of his own contract.
It’s at that critical time when ambitious demands can be made and cast iron assurances received from those in charge of the purse strings.
From the moment the ink has dried, however, that balance of power shifts in an instant.
Rodgers used his clout to ensure he brought with him his own backroom team and also forced the club’s hand into laying out a small fortune to sign a player of the quality of Scott Sinclair.
But it didn’t last long, even despite the stack of trophies building up behind him. Eventually, when Rodgers identified the likes of Timothy Castagne and James Justin to give his defence a Champions League level upgrade and ended up with Marvin Compper instead, he knew his time in Paradise was racing towards an inevitable end.”
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In truth, the full landscape of the promises offered to Postecoglou are not in the public domain and remain unknown in their entirety.
With several key stars out of contract, a rebuilding job was always on the agenda at Parkhead.
Kristoffer Ajer has already been sold, whilst other stars in Ryan Christie and Odsonne Edouard remain subject to speculation.
However, Postecoglou has been backed thus far.
A diverse cast of characters from Carl Starfelt to Kyogo Furuhashi and Osaze Urhoghide have all made moves to Celtic in recent months, with indications of more to come.
Whether it will be sufficient to immediately lay down a marker on the Premiership is a separate matter, though only time will tell if Postecoglou has indeed missed a trick.
