"It's pretty strong language mate, I don't know what your version of catastrophic is but it certainly doesn't fit my definition of what happened. Catastrophic to me means the end. This is far from the end. You are suggesting this is a club falling apart and our season is finished, I don't see it that way."

The words of new Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou back in July after his side had failed to qualify for the lucrative Champions League group stages.

It was a BBC sports journalist who felt the Aussie's wrath on that early occasion after Celtic crashed out to Danish side FC Midtjylland in the qualifiers.

Even early on in his tenure, Ange was outlining he would back his players to the hilt.

Maybe it was the use of the word "mate" but if you've not been paying attention in the media to Ange since his arrival in Glasgow then it usually means that the journalist in question - who is firing the questions - are anything but his "mate."

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Before Ange's first Scottish Premiership game in charge for Celtic against Hearts at Tynecastle, he was asked how much he knew about his opponents despite being a foreigner.

Ange said: "I'm still on the same planet mate, I haven't come from outer space. You'd be surprised how much I know about Hearts as it has a strong Aussie connection mate."

Right away Ange's dealings with the media have been an interesting case study since he uprooted his family to travel a mere 5,776 miles from Yokohama to Glasgow's East End.

The Celtic supporters are beginning to love Ange's jousts with the Scottish media.

Take this curt reply for example after a 2-0 win over Motherwell at Fir Park in October when Rangers conceded a last-minute equaliser to Hearts at Ibrox to spill two points in the wake of Celtic being ruled out of the title race as early as September.

When asked if he was pleased to have gained two points on the league leaders Ange said: “I thought the Premiership was over mate, so I’m not looking at the table anymore.

“We are just doing our own thing so that result has zero significance. What’s more important to us is that we get more belief into the team."

There's that word "mate" again. How telling.

In six short months, Ange has become a cult hit, especially when it comes to press-related matters.

He is the most successful Aussie coach ever, having won titles in Australia and Japan and guiding the Socceroos to their one and only international trophy success.

When those levels were questioned by the media on the day he was unveiled as Celtic's new boss they were quickly booted into touch.

When asked if he was going to adopt a more pragmatic approach Ange had these words of wisdom for the assembled Scots media: “My view on that is: if you are a strict vegetarian, you don’t drop into Macca's [McDonald’s] just because you are hungry mate, you know?” he said. “This is what I believe in. I don't believe in it because I am trying to prove something, I just believe it is truly the way to create a special team."

That left the press pack in no doubt that he was going to do things his way and stand by his philosophy and principles.

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The media jousting with Ange continues to this day but he is looking more relaxed in his role as Celtic manager.

The Aussie is never short of a one-liner or six and he can dish it out whenever he feels the need.

If he doesn't want to answer a journalist's particular question the brush off will undoubtedly come, but not in a rude way.

Ange certainly works on the premise that if a member of the press asks him a silly question they can expect to get it thrown back at them. His delivery is often jocular whenever such moments arise.

He was at it again last week on the eve of Celtic's Europa League tie against Bayer Leverkusen when he was asked about ticket allocations for the League Cup final at Hampden against Hibs on December 19.

Celtic Way:

Hibs had been granted 17,500 tickets and Ange was asked about his thoughts and he seemed exasperated by the question and put his head and his hands before saying: "No you're not going to ask me about ticket allocations as we are playing Leverkusen n a big game tomorrow night. Why waste the opportunity? I have no desire or inkling to get involved in any ticket allocations that is not my brief. I will let you pass on that one, I'll give you a freebie, give me another question."

Ange possesses an unerring and unflinching belief in his own coaching ability.

This is the managerial job he has coveted his whole career and he feels that he has earned the right to be working at a top European club like Celtic.

However, he has also learned swiftly how to handle the Scottish media.

It's fair to say that many Celtic managers' relationships with the media in the past have been fractured, splintered, at times non-existent and less than cordial.

Few Celtic managers in the club's history have commanded total respect when it comes to their dealing with the press.

Jock Stein did. Martin O'Neill did. Brendan Rodgers most certainly did.

It may be quite a while before Ange reaches the kind of levels the named managerial triumvirate enjoyed with the press although Ange is fast approaching statesmanlike status as the public voice of Celtic.

Total respect will no doubt follow if he is as successful as all of the others.

The Aussie possesses an aura about him. He answers questions as honestly as he can. He fields questions with a straight bat and is willing to talk football and engage with those who want to talk about the beautiful game.

He is eloquent, he is passionate and he'll get frustrated but it hasn't boiled over into anger... yet.

It's small wonder the Celtic supporters finally believe they have recruited a manager who is on the verge of building something special at their club.

Amazingly Ange had no connections to Celtic whatsoever before flying halfway across the world to accept the position. He has since cast his obdurate eyes on Scottish football including the workings of the media.

He is experiencing the good, the bad and the ugly and everything that Scottish football has to offer first hand but nothing will detract him from his mission to turn Celtic into a successful football club again.

And the Scottish press is certainly starting to warm to the Aussie.

As for Ange, he probably couldn't give a Castlemaine XXXX what the media think of him.

He would gladly settle for both parties happily co-existing and enjoying a decent working and cordial relationship. But best friends?

That was never really going to happen, mate.