Peter Grant has launched a strong defence of Ange Postecoglou and his time as Celtic manager as he criticised English snobbery.
Postecoglou won five major domestic trophies during his incredibly successful two-year stint as Celtic boss, which culminated in securing a Treble.
The Aussie-Greek hero then moved to Tottenham Hotspur, whom he has just led to the Europa League final in his second season in charge.
Spurs beat Bodo/Glimt on Thursday night to progress to the final in Bilbao where they will face fellow Premier League strugglers Manchester United.
Impassioned Peter Grant sticks up for Celtic and Postecoglou
Postecoglou gets a bit of stick in England because some do not fully appreciate the success he brought to Celtic, despite having to rebuild the Hoops from scratch.
He has been under immense pressure this season for a poor Premier League campaign, but now he is on the verge of winning the Europa League with Spurs.
And Grant thinks that is a win for Celtic and Scottish football as he launched into a tirade about English elitism and that bossing the Hoops brings even more ‘pressure and expectation’ than being the manager of the vast majority of Premier League sides.
Grant told The Go Radio Football Show: “It was like the middle of winter (Bodo/Glimt vs Spurs). You’re looking at it and saying, ‘what a change that is’. So he’s prepared his players for that.
“I’m absolutely delighted for him and delighted for Scottish football. I know that sounds crazy because that’s what they say, ‘he was only with Celtic’.
“Hold on a minute, any of those (Premier League) teams down there apart from Manchester United couldn’t hold a candle for Celtic or Rangers in respect of that, let’s not kid ourselves.
“The pressure, expectation. Listen, I was down there nearly 30 years, you’ll have certain areas (of the country) picking up certain newspapers who pick up their team in that area. Not up here, not up here.
“And even down there, they can’t mention Celtic enough when they mention Ange, you know what I mean? As if they are putting it in the back burner, ‘oh you managed Celtic’. Excuse me?
“And that’s why I’m delighted for him and I hope he goes on to win it, that would be fantastic.”
Watch Postecoglou’s brilliant post-match interview
After Spurs’ place in the 2025 Europa League final was secured, big Ange sat down to face the press inside the bowels of Bodo/Glimt’s tiny stadium.
And it’s safe to say the former Celtic boss was in fiery mood, which has been common when addressing the English press.
He doesn’t take too well to many of their questions and often puts journalists in their places. And that’s exactly what he did on Thursday night.
One reporter described Tottenham and Manchester United as two struggling teams competing for a European trophy, to which Ange responded: “It’s going to upset a lot of people isn’t it?
“The debate’s now raging. The latest one is that neither of us will be able to get a trophy if we win, they’re just going to take a team photo because we’re not worthy.
“I mean, who cares if we’re struggling in the league? It’s a separate thing. It’s got nothing to do with league form.
“I couldn’t care less who’s struggling and who’s not. I think both us and Manchester United have earned the right to be there.”
