SCOTT McDonald reckons Ange Postecoglou's emotional return to Australia is a massive opportunity for Celtic to cash in on their global popularity.
The former Celtic striker insists that Postecoglou's decision to become the boss of the Glasgow side has got the whole of Australia talking and buzzing.
Celtic will take on Rangers in the 83,500 Accor Stadium in the inaugural Sydney Super Cup four-team tournament in November and will also feature A-League sides Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers.
The derby match, which will be the first to be played away from Glasgow, has sparked outrage from both sets of fans.
McDonald says that Postecoglou - who is Australia's most successful football coach - remains a star and is revered in his homeland and that both he and Celtic are now massive attractions and huge box office draws.
The manager of Gold Coast Knights believes that nobody other than Postecoglou could have made such an impact with a massive European football club like Celtic.
He revealed that his 10-year-old son Callum, alongside thousands of other Australians back home, can't wait to see Celtic in action live on what promises to be a huge occasion Down Under.
McDonald said: "Ange Postecoglou put it really, really well. For Australians living here, I know exactly how big an occasion this is going to be in football terms.
"Commercially for Celtic, it is an unbelievable opportunity. It has all been positive about Celtic and Ange and being about a homecoming for him.
"The amount of following and interest in this game and in Celtic since Ange took the Celtic job is amazing.
"Ange has generated more interest in football and Celtic than a single Australian player could do.
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"Once Celtic get here, the general supporter, even those with just a slight interest in football will get behind the project because of Ange's involvement. There will be more fans generated for sure for Celtic for sure in terms of the commercial sense for the club.
"For people living so far away who do not get the chance to watch Celtic live often or for the younger generation who have never seen Celtic live, this is fantastic.
"They will have grown up with the parents telling them how to support the club and it has been two-and-a-half years since my son Callum, who is 10, watched Celtic. He is a massive Celtic fan.
"When I told him that Celtic was coming to Australia he was absolutely buzzing. He is constantly on YouTube at the moment and he cannot contain his excitement whenever Celtic are playing.
"So this is a huge deal for him and to get the opportunity to see Celtic in the flesh - not just for Callum but for many Australians and those who live in this part of the world is pretty special."
McDonald added that he is proud to see his compatriot blaze a trail in football management as he is flying the flag for Aussies.
The 38-year-old is not sure if Postecoglou's early success at Celtic will open the floodgates for more of his fellow countrymen to be gainfully employed abroad.
Postecoglou won the League Cup in December and currently sits three points ahead of Rangers in the Scottish Premiership title race as well as being in the last eight of the Scottish Cup.
He is staring down the barrel of a domestic treble in his debut season in Scotland and McDonald remains convinced that Celtic have hired a serial winner.
He said: "Ange has created something massive in Australia by becoming the manager of Celtic.
"He has achieved so much in such a short space of time by winning his first trophy in six less than six months with the League Cup.
"Ange is rightfully getting due praise and he wants to add the big one and he is well and truly on his way.
"You only need to look at where Celtic was as a team when he took up the reins back in June. The squad, the board, the team and the supporters at the start of the season did not really know or understand who this guy was.
"They were all asking the same questions: 'what is going on here?'
"Ange has managed to steady the ship both on and off the park and that is no mean feat as a manager. He has done an absolutely wonderful job and I hope he can finish it off this season by winning the Scottish Premiership title and being successful beyond.
"I am proud of any Celtic manager and I want them all to do well but there is that sentimental thing for Ange because he is Australian and he is flying the flag for us.
"Whether or not that opens up opportunities for Australian coaches I don't know, I've heard people say that a lot, but I think it may be a little bit far-fetched as I believe coaches need to go and prove themselves.
"Ange is a shining light at that and what he has been able to do and where he has gone to learn his trade whether it be internationally or Japan.
"The one thing I can say about Ange is that everywhere he has gone, he has been a success, he has won. He is a serial winner and that in itself tells you what the man is like."
McDonald also laughed at how the straight-shooter has been perceived as being blunt in media circles.
Postecoglou was McDonald's coach at the international level for two successive under-20 World Cup campaigns.
The 26-times capped Socceroo striker revealed that he didn't shy away from making tough decisions even back then.
Postecoglou dropped the then 19-year-old attacker from the most important game of the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship finals against Brazil - the last group match - even though he was the skipper.
The Aussies won 3-2 to qualify for the knockout phase and McDonald was reinstated for a last 16 clash against the United Arab Emirates only for the Socceroos to lose 1-0.
He insists that he doesn't harbour any hard feelings towards his old coaching mentor despite the tough love he sometimes showed his charges and rigorous demands that he placed upon his players.
McDonald also confessed that deep down in Postecoglou there was a good and kind man.
McDonald said: "We have already seen in his press conferences what Postecoglou wants to do. He is blunt but he has always been that way.
"I had him for two Australia under 20 World Cup campaigns. He is a straight shooter and he will make tough decisions.
"I was his captain of his under 20 World Cup team and we played in the biggest game of the tournament and he dropped me. Even back then he made tough decisions without question.
"I probably didn't respect it at the time but we won the game. I was captain of my country but what was more important? My ego or the country? I was only 19 at that point and I had to deal with it.
"Did I deal with it well? Probably not, I don't know. We played the next game and I got brought back in and we lost so maybe he should have kept me out.
"That is just a type of example of the man and the manager Ange is. He will think about things and make tough decisions.
"He has stated a lot of times that he does not get too close to players and does not give too much away.
"He was great for us and we were only young men at the time but he asked a lot of us without question and he pushed us and demanded a lot. When it was time go to work, it was time to go to work.
"I got on great with Ange. If you ever got him in a one-to-one he was always very good to you, and if your mum and dad were around or members of your family were at games he would speak to them. He always had time for everyone."
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