LAST UPDATE | 6 Jun 2023

AFTER HE AGREED to a four-year deal to become the new head coach of Tottenham Hotspur, Ange Postecoglou paid tribute to Celtic, with whom he had a trophy-laden spell in charge.

Postecoglou won five major trophies in his two seasons in charge of Celtic after replacing Neil Lennon in June 2021.

“I would like to sincerely thank everyone at the club for everything they have given me,” Postecoglou said in a statement on the Celtic website.

“In particular, (majority shareholder) Dermot (Desmond), (chairman) Peter (Lawwell) and (chief executive) Michael (Nicholson) and the Celtic board have shown me tremendous support in every aspect of my time at Celtic and I will forever be grateful for this.

“They brought me to the club and I have worked so closely and so well with them for the past two years, I will always have a special relationship with them.

“They wanted me to extend my time at Celtic and while I am so respectful and understanding of their position, a new opportunity has been presented to me and it is one which I wanted to explore.”

The 57-year-old Australian moves south to London to replace Antonio Conte.

Conte was sacked in late March, with Cristian Stellini and then Ryan Mason taking temporary charge.

Postecoglou will officially join Spurs on July 1.

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said on the club’s website, “Ange brings a positive mentality and a fast, attacking style of play.

“He has a strong track record of developing players and an understanding of the importance of the link from the academy – everything that is important to our club.

“We are excited to have Ange join us as we prepare for the season ahead.”

Tottenham added Postecoglou’s backroom coaching staff would be confirmed “in due course”.

Former Australia head coach Postecoglou won the Scottish Premiership and Scottish League Cup in 2021-22 and Celtic successfully defended both titles this season before adding the Scottish Cup.

In his first season at Celtic Park, Postecoglou was tasked with regaining the league title from Rangers, who had halted Celtic’s bid for a historic 10 in a row, and did so after rebuilding an almost completely new side.

“Celtic is a phenomenal football club, and so much more – and I will forever be a supporter of this great institution. I wish everyone connected with Celtic nothing but continued success,” Postecoglou added.

Postecoglou, whose parents emigrated to Melbourne from Athens when he was five, won back-to-back A-League championships as manager of Brisbane Roar in 2012.

He had a spell in charge of Melbourne Victory before being appointed Australia head coach in 2013. He guided the Socceroos to the 2014 and 2018 World Cup finals and also won the 2015 Asian Cup.

Postecoglou resigned as Australia’s head coach before Russia 2018 to take charge of Japanese side Yokohama and won the J-League title with them in 2019.

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