Ange Postecoglou has been open in his admission that he felt sympathy for Giovanni van Bronckhorst after his Rangers sacking.

The Celtic boss insists that the Dutchman was close to having a statue built for him outside Ibrox last season.

The 57-year-old clearly had a mutual respect with Van Bronckhorst and believes he was very unlucky not to have unlocked legendary status at the Light Blues.

However, Postecoglou admits he has been impressed by the work of Michael Beale since he replaced him in November last year.

Ahead of Sunday's League Cup final, Postecoglou said: “Michael has changed the way they play, gone back to a system and a style that probably suited the players that were there before.

“It’s been an easy transition for him and I think his players took a little bit of comfort from that.

“To be fair to Gio, he was a whisker away from having an historic year.

“He won a trophy, finished second in the league and got to the final of the Europa League. You change a couple of those things and they’re building statues to that guy. It’s a fine line.

“They were a very good side last year too. And they continue that this year.

“Whenever you change manager, particularly mid-season, it’s hard.

“But with Michael’s familiarity with the club and the players themselves, they got a bit of comfort and, although it was change, it was change that they knew and would suit them.

“They’re playing with more belief and you can see that in the consistency of the results.”

READ MORE: Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou addresses psychological significance of Rangers clash

The Australian was also asked if last season's 2-1 defeat to Rangers in the Scottish Cup semis would have any impact on this game. 

He added: "It depends how you want to embrace it. Irrespective I know that come Monday we’ll have dealt with whatever we need to deal with, in a positive sense or a negative sense, and focus on the next one. 

“That’s been really important to us as a group. When we lost the semi-final last year it didn’t derail our determination to be champions. We still had some work to do to at that point. 

“But at the same time we understand that domestically there are three trophies on offer and if you can get to a final that gives you a chance to win one, and we want to win it because there are no guarantees you’ll be in it next year. 

“So, our focus is on preparing and being ready for it and trying to be really strong on the day."