Skipper Callum McGregor believes Ange Postecoglou will leave Celtic on the highest of highs if Tottenham’s reported interest in the Hoops boss comes to fruition.
The Parkhead club clinched an eighth domestic treble – a world record – with a 3-1 Scottish Cup final win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Hampden Park.
Afterwards, Postecoglou refused to commit himself to Celtic for next season and McGregor was asked about the former Australia manager’s accomplishment of the clean sweep in Scotland which brings another entry into the Champions League next season, amid strong speculation about his future.
McGregor, who has now won the treble five times with the Parkhead club, said: “That’s what he always wants to speak about, how well he can build the group, how successful you can be, how together you can be.”
The Hoops captain, who said his personal haul of medals “is something I am proud of, you want to be a winner” added: “We hope he stays and we hope to see him in pre-season.
“In football you never know but if that is a parting gift then what a way to go.
“Of course (we hope he stays). You deliver that much success at the club in such a short space of time.
“You turn things around, you look at the togetherness of the group, it is fantastic and that starts from him.
“That is the message he sets every day so of course we understand he will be linked with big jobs which he has been but selfishly, as players and as a club, we want to keep him as long as we can.”
Asked if he was braced for Postecoglou’s departure, McGregor said: “We don’t know.
“In football there is always speculation, there is always people being linked and that is a good thing.
“It shows you are doing a good job, it shows the players have done a good job for him and he has done a great job for the club so it is always nice to have that compliment and in football you just never know.
“We celebrate tonight, we have had a brilliant season and we will see what happens.
“In football you deal with whatever comes your way, you have to be flexible, you have to work around these things and as I said selfishly we want to keep him. Hopefully we have him for pre-season.”
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life without Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Pirlo sacked as Sampdoria head coach after dismal Serie B start
Andrea Pirlo has been sacked as Sampdoria's head coach after just over a season at the helm.
Pirlo, who managed Juventus for the 2020-21 campaign, has been relieved of his duties after an underwhelming start to their Serie B season.
After finishing seventh in Italy's second tier last term, the 45-year-old was given the green light to try and return to Serie A at the second time of asking.
However, an opening day draw with Frosinone was followed up with back-to-back defeats to Reggiana and Salernitana, leaving them second-bottom in the division.
During his time in charge, Pirlo won 18 of his 45 matches in charge (D10 L17), averaging 1.42 points per game, a total only bettered by his time with Juventus (2.15).
Sampdoria return to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris this weekend in search of their first three points of the season, welcoming Bari to Genoa on Saturday.
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