Brighton link to Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou may hang around for a while

Celtic fans look like having a little longer to wait for their anxieties over Ange Postecoglou’s future to be put to bed.

The Hoops manager was quickly installed as the bookmakers’ favourite to succeed Graham Potter at Brighton following his move to Chelsea last week.

However, rival candidates Steve Cooper and Kjetil Knutsen soon overtook him in the market to calm Celtic supporters, who feared they could be poised to lose the Australian in mid-season to the English Premier League.

That, of course, was exactly what happened with predecessor Brendan Rodgers, who ended up making a hasty departure to Leicester City.

Reports that Postecoglou had been left off a four-man shortlist for the post due to his commitment to staying put at Celtic was further music to their ears.

However, movement in the market yesterday morning strongly suggested the Seagulls’ board were not quite at that stage yet.

Sky Bet cut the odds on three candidates – none of them from the quartet listed.

Postecoglou’s price was clipped from 10/1 to 8/1 (later going back to 10/1), Scott Parker went to 7/1 from 8/1 and Sean Dyche was shortened to 10/1 from 12/1.

Knutsen, the Bodo Glimt manager, and Nottingham Forest boss Cooper – two mentioned as being on the shortlist – remain their market leaders at 2/1 and 4/1 respectively.

At the same time, though, Luton’s Nathan Jones – said be on the shortlist – is a 12/1 shot, bigger odds than the Celtic boss, Parker and Dyche.

English sources report Brighton to be in no rush to make the appointment. Remarkably, their next game is now not until October 1 when they have to travel to Anfield to meet Liverpool.

They were due to host Crystal Palace on Saturday, but that fixture has been postponed because of a planned rail strike. After that, it is the international break.

Those who have followed Brighton’s ascent in recent years warn that trying to second-guess owner chairman Tony Bloom is a very difficult business.

A sports gambler, poker player and entrepreneur, the 52-year-old has built himself a reputation for achieving success through some innovative and often left-field pieces of thinking.

His decision, for example, to sack Chris Hughton in May 2019, shortly after he had succeeded in keeping the club in England’s top flight, raised many eyebrows.

Especially as the team managed by his replacement, Graham Potter of Swansea, had finished 10th in the Championship.

Bloom saw something in Potter, who in fairness had just led Swansea to the FA Cup quarter-finals, and was rewarded for his faith.

Last season’s ninth-place finish was their highest in the top flight, and they also posted their highest totals for both points and goals.

Potter’s departure to Chelsea with his backroom staff – including former Clyde and Hamilton Accies boss Billy Reid – brought in £21.5 million to Brighton.