Ange Postecoglou shares the 'ecstatic' Rangers agony messages that sum up how deep Celtic rivalry truly goes

Ange Postecoglou has shared some of the Rangers messages he received that summed up to him how far the rivalry with Celtic went.

The Australian enjoyed two trophy-laden seasons at Parkhead that earned him a crack at Premier League side Tottenham in 2023. Sacked by Spurs last summer after winning the Europa League and then binned by Nottingham Forest earlier this season, the former Celtic boss has reflected on his career via The Overlap. As his Hoops team won the double in his first season, Rangers lost the Europa League final to Eintracht Frankfurt, after an impressive run to the major showpiece.

He says he had more messages on Light Blues agony than about his joy of silverware in Glasgow’s east-end, which told him all about the city’s big rivalry. That situation was used as an example with reflection had on the North London feud with Tottenham, where some Spurs fans wanted his team to lose against Manchester City late on in the 23/24 campaign, so that Arsenal chances of winning the league ended.

Ange Postecoglou on Celtic vs Rangers

He said: “It was an interesting one for me, because obviously, I've come from Celtic. No one's going to talk to me about rivalry, I lived and breathed it up there. The perfect weekend in Scotland is Celtic winning, Rangers losing. Celtic winning and Rangers winning is not a good weekend. So I remember the first year we won the double but Rangers are in the Europa Cup final. I got more text messages the night they lost the Europa Cup final than we won the league.

“People are ecstatic. So I understand the rivalry, but about who you are, and going into a game wanting to lose because the greatest rival... I get it from a fan's point of view. Maybe if I was a supporter, I'd be feeling the same way. I couldn't represent the club in that manner. I want to win every game of football that I play in. I think it's important we do.

“You know what, at the time, we ended up two points from fourth behind Villa. If we had won that game, we might have gone to the Champions League. It would have meant Arsenal win the league. That frustration comes not because I think, yes, because Arsenal win the league but because, again, Tottenham win nothing is the bigger problem. I said, let me fix that. Let me fix the Tottenham win nothing bit.

Will Ange Postecoglou ever return to Celtic?

“If we win that, you'll see, you'll feel differently about that because you'll be competing on a level playing field. So it was a bizarre week. A couple of times I've had a crack at supporters but I had a crack at one of our supporters. In colourful language, he said, oh, you know, you don't try like this every week. I turned around and I said, mate, I'll see you outside. You're going, I'm trying to win, your team by the way. It kind of put me at odds with some supporters and I understand that. I don't think any supporter would really want me to come out and say, well, you know what, we're not going to try today.”

Postecoglou was also asked about a possible return to Parkhead one day. He said: I loved Celtic. What a football club. If I was younger, I probably would have stayed there longer. I probably would have stayed there three, four years. I think I could have made progress with them in Europe. At the time, like I said, it took me a long time to get to this sort of space that the opportunity to join Tottenham was too good. In terms of going back, I don't go back.

“I just don't think that's kind of been my career. Whatever the next step is, it'll be something new, something I can make an impact in. Somewhere I can win things, but it doesn't diminish the affection. It was a great experience for two years. To be within a community that's just so passionate. It's crazy how passionate they are about their football club. I was fortunate that we had success so it's a positive experience, but I loved every minute of it. I look back on it fondly.”