Eddie Howe on Celtic sliding doors moment for Ange Postecoglou as Newcastle boss makes surprising admission

The Premier League season may be over. But Tottenham and Newcastle United have one more match to play.

Eddie Howe and Ange Postecoglou will lock horns for the final time after making the trip to Australia for an end-of-season friendly. Yet the trajectories of both men's careers could have been so different had Magpies boss Howe accepted an offer to take charge of Celtic in 2021.

Howe emerged as the Parkhead club's No1 target to replace Neil Lennon following the disastrous ten-in-a-row season but a protracted summer pursuit of the Englishman ultimately ended after he was unable to bring in his own coaching staff. That decision dramatically altered the course of Postecoglou's coaching career as the Australian would oversee a supremely successful two years at Celtic before landing a dream move to England.

Postecoglou previously admitted that he owes his Newcastle counterpart a huge thanks for giving him the chance to lead the Hoops to five trophies - including a world record eighth domestic Treble. But ex-Bournemouth gaffer Howe revealed the sliding doors moment has surprisingly never been raised between the two managers, who have one win a piece against each other.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday night's friendly Down Under, Howe told News Corp Australia: "We’ve never discussed that. It’s always that kind of thing when you’re a manager and you’re looking at your next opportunity.

"I’ve had it myself where maybe certain things have happened, you think you’re going to miss out on a job, and then you get an opportunity that you don’t expect. It can change your life dramatically, and it can change your career. That has certainly happened for me here at Newcastle."