Celtic closing in on deal for Montenegro international winger Sead Haksabanovic

Ange Postecoglou reminded fans he is only at the beginning of his Celtic transformation as he closed in on a deal for Montenegro international winger Sead Haksabanovic.

Postecoglou confirmed a deal to sign 23-year-old Haksabanovic from Rubin Kazan was close after Celtic went two points clear at the top of the cinch Premiership following a 2-0 victory over Hearts on Sunday.

The champions have now gone 36 league games unbeaten since Postecoglou lost his first three away games in Scotland but the former Australia manager is not resting on his laurels.

“We can’t stand still,” he said. “And we are still building. Every now and then I glance at the diary and I will go back 12 months and if you go back 12 months from today, you are going to have a very different picture of what our football club looked like.

“We have made a hell of a lot of progress but we are still at the beginning. I am still building a team, building a game style, building an environment.

“There is still work to be done. Just because you have had success or it looks like things are going well, it’s not the time to stand still. I still know there’s a lot of work to be done and my ambitions for this football club are very strong in terms of making sure we can be the best we can be.

“We will continue to strengthen and that’s with the guys we have got, but if opportunities come along to bring people who I think will help us along that journey, then we will bring them in.”

Swedish-born Haksabanovic is set to be the 20th signing Celtic have made since Postecoglou arrived in June last year.

“It’s very easy to forget but 12 months in the world of football is not a hell of a long time to do what we’ve done,” the manager said.

“We have pretty much restructured our whole playing list and the way we play our football.

“That hasn’t just been me, that’s been the whole club that has embraced what we have needed to do and I have had support all along and they continue to support me.

“As a manager I guess it’s what you need. I am going to take responsibility for it so it’s important that you get the support for what you want to achieve.”