Former Rangers chairman Dave King has compared Celtic’s appointment of Ange Postecoglou to the Gers’ disastrous hire of Pedro Caixinha – warning the Parkhead side are taking a “big risk” in recruiting the Australian.
Postecoglou, like Caixinha, arrives in Scotland with a CV that has some impressive highlights but lacks the real top level experience fans of Rangers and Celtic expect.
King admits there were also risks with appointing Steven Gerrard as Rangers manager but thinks there was a “comparative benchmark” between how he coped with the pressure in Liverpool to how he would handle it in Glasgow.
“I think there are obvious risks,” King said, as quoted by the Scottish Sun.
“There are risks just in coming to the UK — and then Glasgow is a difficult place to come into. There is a culture around it. It’s an absolute fishbowl from the media and fans’ point of view.
“It’s not just from a footballing point of view. There’s a huge cultural adjustment. It’s a very difficult situation.
“We saw that with Pedro. It could have worked but it didn’t work.
“Bringing in someone like Steven Gerrard, while Glasgow is still difficult, there is a comparative benchmark in Liverpool as to what it will be like.
“But coming from some of these foreign leagues is a big risk. It might work. It’s definitely a big risk.”
Postecoglou won’t get the same sort of goodwill Gerrard got from Rangers fans
While Rangers fans may not want to admit it, there was a certain leeway given to Gerrard that other managers hadn’t been given before him – and Postecoglou is unlikely to benefit from similar goodwill.
Arriving in Scotland as a relative unknown will see the pressure quickly increase on Postecoglou with no allies in the media or vocal backers among prominent supporters.
If it goes well – and there’s nothing to say it won’t – Postecoglou will show why he is so highly rated in Asia and Australia.
If it doesn’t, the comparisons with Pedro Caixinha will quickly become undeniable.
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