Chris Sutton has pointed to Ange Postecoglou’s difficult start at Celtic as a warning against writing off Rangers boss Derek McInnes too quickly.
It has been a miserable opening to the Premiership campaign for Rangers, with Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Hibernian at Ibrox leaving them five points behind Celtic after just two matches.
While Martin O’Neill’s side were cruising to a 5-1 victory over Kilmarnock, pressure was already beginning to mount across the city.
But former Celtic striker Sutton believes Postecoglou’s experience at the Hoops shows why patience can sometimes pay off.
Speaking on BBC 606, Sutton said: “It’s the modern game. You hire someone, you fire them. It doesn’t take long to fire someone.
“But if you look at Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, for example. Arsenal were very patient when there were a lot of fans who wanted him out. Look at the success they are having now.
“I would point to Ange Postecoglou when he first went in at Celtic.
“A tough time, knocked out of the Champions League, I think, by Midtjylland in a tough start. I think he lost three out of his first five. So I understand Rangers fans’ frustration.”
Postecoglou inherited a major rebuilding job at Celtic in 2021 and endured an early Champions League exit to Midtjylland before winning only three of his opening seven Premiership fixtures.
The Australian ultimately turned Celtic’s fortunes around, with Sutton using his Hoops transformation as evidence that McInnes should not necessarily be judged on his opening weeks at Ibrox.
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2 Comments
But chris with Postecoglue you could see a team and his style of play guick throw ins everything at speed most teams couldnt keep up with his pressure taticts it wasnt his fault he was brought in to late while Celtic board was let down by the man they had waited for wwent to newcastle but did angie do brilliant maybe got him epl move what he wanted but he thought he had an open cheque book that only happens with a couple of clubs
The difference is Ange was a serial winner and Jurgen McInnes is…well, you can fill in the blanks.