Celtic coach Harry Kewell has praised Ange Postecoglou for the environment he has created at the club and also opened up on his relationship with forward Daizen Maeda.

The Australian, who joined the Hoops backroom staff last summer, is settling in well to life in Glasgow.

And he has nothing but good things to say about his current boss.

Speaking on Graham Hunter's Big Interview podcast, he said: " I had originally just got the Barnet job and then things happened there.

"Then in the summer time I was talking to a club, let's just say I was talking to them on the Monday and I got a text from the manager and I was taken aback.

"It was just one of the nicest messages I’ve ever read from a manager to a young coach.

"I showed my wife and said I was going to ring him. He told me he’d love for me to join up, he knew what I’d been through and had kept an eye on me - I didn’t know that - and knew what I liked, what I didn’t like.

"He thought it would be a good environment for me to come in and work with a great team and get back to where I belong.

“I was blown away. I said I’d get back to him in a couple of days then told my wife I was taking the job, because the way he spoke was enough.

"I didn't want to sound too eager so made him wait a little bit! But I was ready to say yes straight away.

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"I’ve heard a lot of stories about the manager, but they’re stories. It’s nice to get your own picture.

"I think personally, there’s two sides to him. One is the manager; he's very strict, likes the way things are run and is very intense. I like that.

"I felt coming in, it would take me a couple of weeks to learn his ideas and all that stuff.

"Within two days, I understood it because that’s how clear his messages are. There’s no grey, it’s just black.

"That’s how we’re playing, this is what I want and that’s the way it is. But then there’s the other side to him.

"He’s like a father. That personality to joke around - very rarely - but when you do catch him at those times, he’s just generally a nice person to talk to and you want to work for.

"As much as he’s intense as a manager, he’s a good human being. And they’re the ones you want to work for.

"He’s confident enough in his ability to know that he can help. It’s when people are confident enough that they want to try and protect this and protect that."

Kewell's role at Parkhead involves working with players one-on-one and someone who has benefitted from this close contact coaching.

The former Liverpool man has opened up on the dynamic he has with the Japan international.

"With Daizen (Maeda), he’s a very good listener and learner. What you say to him, he’ll listen and take it on board," he continued.

"It is not about: ‘I’m the coach, you’re the player, you listen to what I say’. No, no, no.

"We’re just in an environment here to have a chat. I’m going to say something that’s completely wrong but I want to see if you pick up on it, because that means you're going to be confident enough to be able to go: ‘I don’t agree with that’.

"Then I know that they’re listening."