Celtic’s Ange Postecoglou has revealed he hired Harry Kewell as an assistant because the legendary Socceroo’s journey in coaching so far has reminded him of his own beginnings.
Since retiring as a player in 2014, Kewell has struggled to make his mark as a football manager, lasting more than 12 months only once during four tenures at League Two clubs Crawley Town, Notts County and Oldham Athletic, and at Conference side Barnet.
Postecoglou himself battled to get his coaching career going after an initially promising start with South Melbourne, with an infamous interview with former Socceroo pundit Craig Foster rendering him almost unemployable after a troubled reign with Australia’s junior teams.
However, Postecoglou was given a chance to manage A-League Men side Brisbane Roar in 2009, with the tactician winning a slew of trophies since at both domestic and international level, including last season’s Scottish Premiership and League Cup.
“I keep tabs on different coaches, young coaches in particular because [a lack of opportunities] happened to me,” Postecoglou told Open Goal.
“There was a period in my career where I couldn’t get an opportunity and I believe in myself, so I thought ‘why doesn’t someone give me an opportunity?’
“A bit of luck and a bit of circumstance, and I got an opportunity to coach again and since then my career has gone off. So I thought there could be other people like me out there.
“I follow as many young managers as possible to see how they’re going and it’s not about them having success.
“Harry, if you look at him, he’s really wanted a crack at having a career and he’s done some really tough gigs, and it hasn’t worked out for him.
“Watching him from afar and talking to people, they said: ‘He’s got plenty of energy, great enthusiasm, great knowledge and just needs to be in a good environment’.
“So I thought, you know what, I’ll bring him in here and he’ll add what he’s got, because he has played at the highest level and won a Champions League, but he can also develop by working alongside some good coaches here and being in a good environment.”
Celtic take on Ross County in the second round of the League Cup before facing two blockbuster home matches – Rangers in the league on Saturday and Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.
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