At Celtic's AGM last Friday, there was a wonderful personal touch displayed by the manager Ange Postecoglou.

A questioner addressed him as Mr Postecoglou, to which he replied: “Mr Postecoglou was my father. Call me Ange, or Big Ange."

Shaun Devenney must have been listening.

Devenney, a professional artist, took it upon himself to create a work called 'Big Ange' in Postecoglou's honour.

He created a huge mural and painted the Hoops manager on a wall ahead of the Sydney Super Cup. Postecoglou will return to Australia later this month for the mid-season event.

Ahead of his homecoming, Devenney's incredible and impressive artwork depicts Postecoglou with the Scottish Premiership trophy and the accompanying gold medal around his neck giving a fist pump to the Celtic supporters.

The wonderful piece of street art can be seen on Coventry Street situated in South Melbourne, a place close to Postecoglou's heart as he won titles both as a player and a manager with the local football club South Melbourne.

Sharing the mural on social media, Devenney wrote: "Painted Big Ange in South Melbourne in time for his homecoming in a couple of weeks."

The Celtic Way caught up with Devenney for an exclusive chat and he is delighted at the response to his work, which at the time of writing was flirting with 10,000 likes, shares and comments across the various social media platforms.

Devenney revealed he feels that for winning last season's Scottish Premiership title alone Postecoglou deserved to be remembered for posterity.

"The mural came up better than expected," he told The Celtic Way. "I had planned to do it for ages since I knew Ange Postecoglou and Celtic were coming back home. I wanted to do something with regard to Ange.

"I tried to speak to South Melbourne - Ange's old football club - to see if they had a wall or anything like that but there was stuff going on with them and there was too much paperwork and red tape to get it over the line. I spoke to Celtic as well but I didn't get anything from them so I just went and did it off my own back.

"My Twitter feed went absolutely mental after I posted it. The notifications went absolutely nuts. I was hoping that Celtic will get involved and put it on their social media pages. The A-League has already shared it on their social platforms and if they want another mural of Ange Postecoglou done before the games then I'm their man.

"I sometimes get commissioned to do murals through businesses or councils but I did the Postecoglou one off my own back. He needed to be immortalised with a mural in Melbourne.

"I wasn't sure if I could find anyone to pay to me paint Postecoglou so that's why I just decided to do it myself. It became a labour of love and I think that is why it has come out looking so good."

So how did 27-year-old Devenney, who originally comes from Paisley, end up carving out his living as an artist in the south of Australia?

Devenney concedes that, despite serving his apprenticeship as a mechanical engineer, he was never cut out for that kind of life.

"I am a massive Celtic fan and I hail from Paisley," Devenney added. "I was a season ticket holder back home for a good few years but since coming to Australia three years ago I've had to give all of that up.

"I have been an artist since I left Scotland and I have been doing it full-time. I am now living the dream.

"I left Scotland because I wanted to travel. I had just finished my apprenticeship in mechanical engineering and I hated it. I was doing some painting on the side. I just got bitten by the travel bug.

"I toured south-east Asia and Japan and I ended up coming to Australia. My sister had been here before and I had come on holiday to see her so I knew there was a thriving Melbourne art scene and that this would be a great place to set up base camp. It's the best thing I ever did."

Devenney insists that Australia will go crazy for Postecoglou on his emotional homecoming and that he has been amazed by the amount of Aussies who now support Celtic because of the manager.

"Ange Postecoglou just gets Celtic," he said. "It is no wonder there will be a strong outpouring of emotion when he comes home. He has bonded and connected with Celtic instantly. He is a man of the people and Celtic has a real leader at the helm of the club.

"The one thing I miss about back home is going to the football, especially away matches on the supporters' bus. They don't have that kind of football culture out here so for Celtic to come over to visit Australia while I am staying here is fantastic. It has worked out well. The Sydney Super Cup is going to be a wonderful and special event. It will be a real party."

Celtic Way:

How has his decision to adorn a South Melbourne wall with a gigantic image of Postecoglou gone down with the locals?

"Really well," Devenney says. "With the Celtic supporters and Aussie alike. The people out here love Ange. I have met so many people in Australia who have become Celtic supporters overnight because of him.

"They follow what is happening at Celtic through him. His success has been a joke when you consider where Celtic was when he came into the club. It is night and day and the football Celtic are playing is a joy to watch.

"This is only the start for Ange and Celtic. That is one thing about the Aussies is that they back their own very much and it is a love-in with Ange at the minute. They do root for them big time."

While Devenney will be travelling to Sydney for the Super Cup matches involving Celtic he reckons he has made a rookie error by flying out to New Zealand immediately after the tournament.

He said: "I think I have made a bit of a mistake though as I am going to Sydney for the Sydney Super Cup then I am flying over to New Zealand to see one of my mates.

"I think Ange is going to Melbourne after Sydney so if he does visit the mural I will not be around for that. One of my mates, who is from Glasgow, told me that Postecoglou is holding a night in a theatre in both Sydney and Melbourne.

"He told me if he gets the chance to speak to Postecoglou he will show him the painting. Hopefully, he does see it because it is in South Melbourne. It is in his neck of the woods so I would imagine he will go and see it."

Art for art's sake? Not a bit of it. More like Art for Ange's sake. You get the feeling that Devenney, like Ange, could well be the next 'Big' thing.

You can follow Shaun Devenney on Twitter here and Instagram here.

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