Harry Kewell has revealed that his move into management started back in July whe Celtic faced Yokohama F Marinos as part of a two match trip to Japan.
The Socceroos legend could probably have followed Ange Postecoglou to Spurs in the summer but opted to stay on at Celtic where he retained his role as first team coach under Brendan Rodgers.
Kewell had already experienced management with Oldham and Barnet but despite the scars of those experiences he still hankered a wish to be his own man.
Despite no previous experience of the J-League the Aussie theme at Yokohama provided a heavy clue with Kewell picking up the reigns from Postecoglou and Kevin Muscat.
All of the jigsaw pieces fell together at the turn of the year with The Sun reporting on Kewell’s first media conference in charge of Yokohama:
When I was at Celtic, there were several Japanese players in the team, but what surprised me was their attitude of learning.
In particular, Daizen Maeda had so much potential, but he still wanted to learn something.
I could really see his eagerness to absorb things. That made me happy as a coach.
It was wonderful for me to see that attitude on a daily basis. I can’t help, but look forward to this job.
When Ange Postecoglou was Celtic manager, he told me how great the J-League was and, based on his experience in Japan, he said it was the best country to manage.
He also told me that if I had a chance to manage in the J. League, I should definitely take it.
Last year, Celtic played against Marinos in Japan and I thought they were a great team, After the final game, I received an offer from the Marinos side to coach and I was able to reach the position I am in today.
Yuki Kobayashi has been linked with a loan move to Yokohama after failing to make a single appearance this season under Rodgers.
Kewell’s move to Japan does provide Celtic with an expert judge in that part of the world but after the initial signing successes Yosuke Ideguchi has returned to Japan with doubts over the future of Kobayashi and Tomoki Iwata.
Former Leicester City coach Adam Sadler has replaced Kewell as Celtic first team coach alongside Gavin Strachan.
CLICK HERE for Chris Sutton naming Celtic’s transfer priority.
