The former forward was in Glasgow recently and had a meeting with the Celtic gaffer after his own triumphs.
Scott McDonald has revealed an hour-long chat with Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers left him blown away as he plots his own path in management.
The Hoops hero who also played for Motherwell, Dundee United and Partick Thistle during his time in Scotland is head coach at Australian side Gold Coast Knights. He secured a treble in his second full term at the helm through a clean sweep of Queensland trophies, and it has attracted admiring glances from A-League clubs after his NPL Coach of the Year award.
McDonald did his Pro Licence through the Scottish FA and believes former Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou has been key in paving the way for Australian coaches. And the current man in the Parkhead dugout has provided further inspiration. He told Football Careers: “Of course I’m ambitious to get to the highest level I can. If you don’t have those ambitions, what’s the point in doing the job? It’s not in my nature to be content with my lot, I’ll always be hungry for more.
“I’m in a semi-professional league at the moment and, when the time is right, I want to step up to the next level. I look at the likes of Ange Postecoglou and think, could that be me further down the line? I think every coach has those ambitions.
“It’s been really good to see how well Ange has done at both Celtic and Spurs. He’s had to win a lot of people over because he was an unknown quantity in the UK. He didn’t have a playing career in Europe and his coaching roles had all been in Australia and Japan.
“But people in Australia knew just how good he was. I had great times at Celtic and I still enjoy going back to the ground whenever I’m back in Glasgow.
“I did my Pro Licence through the SFA and caught up with a few familiar faces. I was also back for a family holiday recently and met up with Brendan Rodgers, who was kind enough to sit with me in his office and talk about football for an hour. That was a great experience.
“Now, though, it’s all about gearing up for the new season here on the Gold Coast and trying to repeat the success we’ve had over the last year. We’re the team everyone else will be gunning for this time so it’ll be a challenge. But I’m up for it, the staff are up for it, and I know the players will be too.”
