Ange Postecoglou used an AI company to predict which players would get injured at Celtic - and still takes his sports science seriously.

That's according to Anton McElhone who became a trusted advisor of Postecoglou's at the Hoops. McElhone was a top sport scientist at Parkhead having been brought in in 2021 as part of a football department revamp that restored them to their status as Scottish football dominators after the collapse of the 10-in-a-Row dream.

He left the club in 2023 but remains in a unique position to offer an insight into what life was like under Postecoglou. In a revealing interview on the BBC's Monday Night Club podcast, McElhone was quizzed by Chris Sutton and Mark Chapman on Ange's deployment of sport science, which is a hot button issue in the Scottish game. Rangers boss Philippe Clement has come under fire for leaning too heavily on the data to inform his team selections. But Postecoglou wasn't shy in listening to the numbers either.

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McElhone said: "At Celtic, we had an AI company called Zone7. We'd put in all our match and training data and it would give us estimates and predictions of the risk factor for certain players. We'd use that on a daily basis. Look at the facts: 'Is this player robust, does he have the experience?' If it was something very extreme, you would speak to the manager. But you don't go to the manager every day with who could be injured. Because these are all clouds. The exact amount of injuries that get prevented, you'll never know.

"There are factors that can help you tell. Previous injury is a big factor, so is age. Players like Filipe Jota who came in, the most games he'd played on loan was 18 games (over a season). But within three months at Celtic, he'd already played his 18 games. So it takes time, as Ange would say, to get players to adapt.

"At Celtic after six months Postecoglou could rotate the front five at 65 or 65 minutes to keep the freshness for the 60-game season. At Tottenham he's probably found that a lot more difficult because I don't think the strength in depth is the same as other Premier League clubs like Manchester City and Chelsea.

"Look at the evolution at Celtic under Postecoglou, we had a three-month period of sustaining injuries every week, mostly hamstring injuries. We had to get to the winter break to reset. As the players adapted to the demands of the system, the game fluctuation changed rather than that constant 'basketball' up and down the pitch, the team was able to control one half of the pitch more. So that stopped the centre-backs having to run in behind as often.

"As the game model and philosophy settled, that reduced injuries. At the moment, that is the problem at Tottenham. He has not got the squad. They have had a change of medical staff in the background in the last year as well, on top of all the other issues."

McElhone was keen to stress the sports scientists at Parkhead never overstepped the mark. They would only go to the manager if there was serious risk of injury, but the boss always listened to them and wanted to be sure he had the facts.

The data wasn't just for injuries either as McElhone noted a 'Moneyball-like' approach was taken towards recruitment. "Ange is all about the numbers," McElhone added. He'll say 'Give me the facts'. Top managers will make the decisions. It's not up to us to dictate, our job is to support, give the information. In year one at Celtic, Kyogo Furuhashi was injured going into the Scottish Cup final: a grade 2B hamstring injury. The manager asked 'Can we get the player available for the game? Is it a big risk?'

"The player wanted to play, we took the risk, we did the right strategies to try and get the player there, but it was the manager's choice. Our job is to support. At the end of the day, he's the leader and it's his job on the line.

"Ange is his own man, he's an exceptional leader and very strong and understanding, and has a good background in sports science and education from Australia.

"At Celtic, they already had Callum McGregor. Matt O'Riley was brought in, Reo Hatate, so from a recruitment point of view, you can build a team very Moneyball-like and bring in players who fit the system.

"Ange had a rule of thumb. Training was only 65 or 70 minutes, tops. When we went into Celtic, that was a challenge. How can you increase the volume to allow more work done on the pitch? The warmup had to start with the ball, so you can get more extra training drills in, and get more bang for your buck.

"Ange would make it clear. John Kennedy had the running of the club under Neil Lennon, he was the trusted assistant manager. He would set up the training in conjunction with Ange. He would build the training and speak to myself and my staff."