Former Celtic player Paul Slane has backed Ange Postecoglou to become the next Liverpool manager, believing the Hoops boss is “good enough” to take over from Jurgen Klopp when the time comes.
Despite uncertainty from Hoops fans when Postecoglou first arrived, the former Socceroos boss led the club to a Scottish Premiership league title and the Scottish League Cup in his first season at Celtic Park.
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The Australian boss picked up right where he left off in his second year at the helm as Celtic have won six league games from seven, including a resounding 4-0 win over bitter rivals Rangers.
But it is in the Champions League where Postecoglou has received the most praise for his bold and brave approach against Europe’s elite, despite not registering a victory yet.
The all-action style of play earned plenty of admirers down south in the Premier League and Slane believes it’s only a matter of time before an opportunity at one of England’s most storied clubs come calling.
“I think Postecoglou’s going to be the next Liverpool manager, I really do,” Slane told Grosvenor Sport.
“I think he’ll be the next Liverpool manager when Jurgen Klopp decides to go or Liverpool decide to part with him. Who else takes the Liverpool job after Klopp?
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“At times in this season’s Champions League game against Real Madrid, the European champions, Celtic were unbelievable, so I think Ange Postecoglou is good enough to be the next Liverpool manager.
“If people think Graham Potter is better than Postecoglou, and he can get the Chelsea job, then they’re wrong.”
Having brought the feel-good factor to Celtic Park, Postecoglou was heavily linked with the vacancy at Brighton after Potter took over at Chelsea.
Although Postecoglou was not offered the role, it’s no doubt a sign of things to come as Celtic face a fight to keep the boss in Glasgow.
Slane admitted his resignation that the 57-year-old will eventually move on in the coming years, but he holds out hope Postecoglou will still be around when the 2023/24 season commences.
“Sadly I think Postecoglou will be too good to stick around at Celtic for the next four or five years,” Slane said.
“He’ll want the Premier League, the top teams, the money … I think Ange will want to go and face off against the world’s top managers week-in, week-out. So I think it’ll be hard for him to stay with Celtic.
“But come the first game of next season, I think he’ll still be managing Celtic.”
