Gordon Strachan names 5 Celtic players he’d love in his Hoops squad but explains why Angeball would struggle in his era

GORDON STRACHAN has named five current Celtic players he would have loved to have worked with when he was manager at Parkhead.
The former Hoops and Scotland boss was manager at Celtic between 2005-09 and won six trophies from his time in Glasgow.
He lifted the Scottish Premiership on three occasions, the Scottish League Cup twice and the Scottish Cup once during his four-year spell.
The ex-boss reached the Champions League round of 16 twice as well in 2007 and 2008.
The Tartan Army legend managed some top players from his time at Celtic with Shunsuke Nakamura, Scott Brown, Artur Boruc, Stiliyan Petrov and Aiden McGeady to name a few.
And while he wasn't short of success from his time as Hoops boss, Strachan has picked a handful of players from Ange Postecoglou's team who he thinks would have given his side even more of an edge over Old Firm rivals Rangers.
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The 65-year-old hailed the Aussie boss for giving his players confidence in 'Angeball' and reckons it's the most consistent Celtic team since the Jock Stein days.
But he does admit that some of the current Celtic players would struggle with the physicality and roughness of the Scottish game from 15-20 years ago and before.
Speaking exclusively to SunSport on behalf of BoyleSports, he said: “The thing about Ange’s team which is different from any other Celtic manager, apart from Jock Stein, is I think all managers have had spells of games where they’ve been smashing, terrific. I can think back to many games (when I was in charge) and I’m really proud of it.
“I don’t think there’s been a team so exciting consistently as the one that’s playing just now. Whether they’re getting beat by Real Madrid or beating Dundee United 9-0, it’s always a pleasure to switch on the TV and watch it.
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“So looking at the players we have now, you’ve got Juranovic – I'd love to have him in the squad. Carter-Vickers and McGregor, yes. Striker wise, I was lucky I had (Chris) Sutton, (John) Hartson, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Maciej Żurawski and Shaun Maloney. So if you gave me that lot I’d be more than happy with that.
“Obviously Kyogo as well because he adds something different, and Jota, so there’s quite a few you’d have in your squad.
“But the game is a wee bit different now. If you think back to when Celtic had to go to the likes of Falkirk and all these places when you need to play up to your neck in mud. The rules were different, the tackle from behind was still allowed at that time. As long as you touched the ball, you could do what you wanted with the rest of your body.
“It has allowed your Celtic, Barcelona, Manchester City and Chelsea to pass the ball around and smaller players like (Luka) Modric and (Lionel) Messi to let their talents flow without getting kicked.
“You think about Nakamura, he was doing what the great Celtic players do just now but on muddy pitches and people were allowed to kick you up in the air.
“The pitches are completely different now which has allowed this wonderful football to be created. But you do need the imagination to create that. Ange has obviously created this wonderful spectacle that we love to watch.
“Saying that, how the Hampden pitch was for the semi-finals, there was something about them that we all liked. There were slide tackles, there was this and that. I think we all went ‘yeah, I can see why the older people might enjoy going back 20/30 years ago to those pitches because there was so much in it'. I think it gave the underdogs that bit of a chance to be honest with you.”
Postecoglou has brought domestic success to Celtic since taking over as boss in 2021, but he hasn't quite hit the heights on the continental stage as of yet.
But Strachan believes he will go down as a Parkhead great without bringing European success to the club.
He said: “Does Ange need to be successful? It would be great if he could. Every team in Scotland has been disappointing (in Europe). St Johnstone, Hearts and Hibs have been put out and you couldn’t even remember their (the opponents) names.
“We all could be doing a bit better, but what we’ve got, I think we’re doing all right.
“Will Ange change? No, I think he will only try and get better at what he does. Football fans all say they want to see great football, but they’re seeing it! Why are they moaning? If you’re bringing success and taking on Real Madrid and Man Utd and all that then you can’t complain.
“Chelsea have spent almost half a billion in the transfer window, what chance have you got? People say Celtic need to spend this and that but it’s impossible to do it.
“Celtic and Rangers have to protect the clubs as well. They can’t go and spend money they’ve not got because they can get into trouble. We need to appreciate what the players are doing just now.
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“If you play Barcelona 10 times then you might beat them once, that’s just the way it goes.”
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