Bodo/Glimt manager heaps praise on Celtic boss Postecoglou

Kjetil Knutsen is a huge fan of what Ange Postecoglou is doing at Celtic, with his Bodo/Glimt side hosting the Bhoys tomorrow night.

The Hoops traveled to the Arctic Circle to take on the Norwegian champions, and ahead of the game Knutsen was keen to heap praise on the Celtic manager. The Bodo/Glimt boss believes he and Postecoglou share a similar view of football.

Not only that, he believes Celtic will also be a ‘really good’ European side under Postecoglou. The Bhoys have shown promise in the Europa League this season, picking up 9 points in a group including Bayer Leverkusen and Real Betis, two strong sides in the Bundesliga and La Liga respectively.

However, defensive weaknesses, including against Bodo/Glimt themselves in the Europa Conference League, have been an ongoing problem. There is, however, a feeling that in the coming campaigns Celtic players will be better equipped to handle what Europe has to offer, as well as being able to compete on all fronts domestically.

Before tomorrow night’s meeting, Knutsen said [Sun]:

“The manager has done a great job with the team. What is most interesting to me is the way they play football. I really think Celtic’s DNA is similar to Bodo/Glimt.

“He is new to the business. He needs time. If you ask me, I watched a lot of games and really felt they took a lot of steps in the last two months.

“I think he and his team will be a very good team in Europe in the future.”

Bodo/Glimt boss Kjetil Knutsen looking after Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou ahead of a vital European clash?

You can call it mind games if you want. However, Kjetil Knutsen appears to be a straight shooter, and his side are the ones with a 3-1 aggregate lead. There’s no real need to try to destabilize Celtic with lavish praise, or try to introduce some complacency.

That wouldn’t work, in context. So it looks genuine.

And we are very happy to hear it, that being the case. There is a real enthusiasm for Celtic under Ange Postecoglou. In the past, we really only thought about competing nationally, winning it all and trying to maintain our dominance domestically. Nothing wrong with that necessarily, but there seems to be some longer-term thinking and strategy under Ange Postecoglou.

Not only that, the manager is desperate to make his mark in European competition. If he can win something, or even have a Celtic thread together a deep run in Europe, he will be remembered in Glasgow’s East End for generations after he is gone.

Martin O’Neill’s esteem is held in points for that. Ange wants to be in the Mount Rushmore of great Celtic managers. Making a dent in the European scene is essential to achieve this.

It is therefore probable that Ange easily received these words from Knutsen. However, he will not dwell on it for now; there’s business to be settled in the Arctic Circle, against Knusten’s fast-paced and entertaining Bodo/Glimt side.

Read more: Callum McGregor explains what Celtic stars discussed after last week’s Euro disappointment