THE last couple of years could have turned out very differently for Eddie Howe and Ange Postecoglou.

In the summer of 2021, Howe looked destined to take charge of Celtic but ended up turning down the job due to concerns at not being able to put together his own backroom team.

Howe's u-turn led to two career-changing appointments down the line.

Firstly, Celtic turned to Postecoglou. And later in 2021, Howe got the opportunity to take charge of Newcastle United. Both appointments have worked out perfectly for the clubs and managers involved, with Postecoglou winning successive titles at Celtic Park and Howe leading Newcastle into the Champions League.

Postecoglou is grateful to Howe for the Celtic snub that handed him his opportunity in Scotland, though he's not surprised the now-Newcastle boss was targeted by the Hoops in the first place and has been enormously impressed by his work on Tyneside.

“I absolutely admire the job Eddie Howe has done at Newcastle," he said.

“You can see why this football club wanted him to take charge here. He is a very impressive person, as well as a manager.

“He has done an unbelievable job [with Newcastle] and I also felt he did a great job at Bournemouth.

“Eddie has worked his way up, he has done all the hard bits you need to do as a manager. He has had to earn everything along the way.

“It’s great for Eddie Howe and for Newcastle that they are back in the Champions League.

“It’s a big club that hasn’t enjoyed a lot of success recently, so it’s great to see them back in there."

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Both Newcastle and Celtic are likely to be in pot four for next season's Champions League so won't clash in the group stages, but Postecoglou is excited by the prospect of a meeting between the sides at some stage down the line.

“That would be nice," he said.

“Knowing the passions of both sets of supporters, those would be two games nobody would want to miss out on – home and away.

“There would be an unbelievable atmosphere at both."