Ange Postecoglou admits 'selfish self-interest' as he responds to Celtic fan backlash over Australia trip

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has sought to make light of supporter opposition to the friendly with Rangers arranged for his Australian homeland in November, conceding he has particular reason to be warmed at the sales pitch surrounding the four-team tournament.

“I’m disappointed with that, mate… jokingly,” said Postecoglou in response to his team’s 2-0 win at home to St Mirren witnessing a Green Brigade banner protest against their club’s perceived joint venture with the Ibrox side. “No, look, I’ve said since day one that I’m not going to tell the supporters what to feel and what not to feel. Selfishly I’m delighted. I’m all over the promotional stuff which means I’ll hopefully still be in the job by then…

“Look, I’d love to take this team there to show people the football we can play. There are a lot of our supporters in Australia - I know, I’ve lived it - who will be snapping up tickets and changing whatever holiday plans they had to come watch us play. I can understand some people have different views on it. But from my perspective I’m not going to tell people how they feel. But I have some selfish self-interest in this. I’m going to feel super-proud to take this team to where I grew up.

“It’s massive for Australia but I think we’ve got to grow the game here for Scottish football. We’ve got an opportunity with a lot of interest in our football club, not just in Australia but Asia. Every other big club around the world takes advantage of that so why wouldn’t we take advantage of the fact we have got an unbelievable opportunity to keep growing the interest and popularity of this football club? That’s not just in the commercial sense - which is obviously a big part of football these days. But I will guarantee you we will gain new supporters of this football club.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou applauds the home fans after the 2-0 win over St Mirren. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

“We are an all-inclusive church, mate. We welcome people from far and wide, which we do, and I think taking the team to that side of the world is positive for us but also positive for Scottish football. People know what I’m like, I’m not going to go there and treat it like a friendly. I want people to see us playing fantastic football and get everyone talking about our football club. I have no doubt it will be an unbelievable event and the atmosphere will be cracking. Our supporters will make is a special occasion like they always do.”

Fan media asked the Celtic manager if there would be an invite for travelling supporters to go “all back to yours”.

“To be fair everyone has invited me to theirs while I’ve been here,” he said. "I probably should open up. We’ll see, but it’s a long way down the track. Right now we’ve got more important things to focus on. From my perspective, hopefully I’m still in charge to take this team to my home town. I’d be a very proud person.”

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