Carl Starfelt believes he has taken “very big steps” under the tutelage of Ange Postecoglou as speculation about the Celtic boss’ future continues apace.
The backdrop to the Hoops’ 3-1 Scottish Cup final win over Championship side Inverness at Hampden Park on Saturday was the link between the former Australia manager and Tottenham.
Goals from Kyogo Furuhashi, Liel Abada and Jota rendered Dan MacKay’s header a consolation as the Parkhead club completed their eighth domestic treble – a world record.
Fans hero Postecoglou arrived at Parkhead in June 2021 and brought in the Sweden centre-back from Rubin Kazan the following month and Starfelt – who insisted that he had no knowledge of what his boss intended to do – has enjoyed his development as a player in that period.
He said: “Obviously, he brought me here. I was one of the first signings he made and he has given me a lot of trust.
“He has been really good for me and my development, also the way he wants centre-backs to play is really developing.
“I feel that I have been taking very big steps and also he demands the very best from every player which makes us better.
“So, obviously he has been really good for me and a lot of the players.”
Starfelt acknowledged the widespread influence of Postecoglou at Celtic, where he arrived after the league title had decanted to Rangers, wresting it back to the east end of Glasgow at the first attempt.
He said: “It is really important for the club – everyone can see that.
“He came in when it was a really tough period and has done this rebuild. He is just a really good manager and everyone knows he is really important for the club but we will have to wait and see what happens, I don’t know.
“After the game he said that he was really proud of everyone.
“He knows how hard we have been working all season, not only in the games, coming into training every day with 100 per cent focus, which is what is needed to achieve this kind of thing as it is not easy. It took a lot to get us to this place.
“We have been working really hard all season. I am really happy, delighted, happy and proud of the boys and the staff.
“We worked so hard and the treble is not an easy thing to achieve so I’m really happy.”