The former Australia manager took over the Hoops in the summer and has infused the Glasgow club with his high-tempo style of play which has, for the most part of his short tenure, thrilled the supporters.

The League Cup was brought back to Parkhead with a 2-1 win over Hibernian in the Hampden Park final in December and Celtic went into the rescheduled winter break six points behind Premiership leaders Rangers and with the Scottish Cup still up for grabs.

The title race is set to hot up when Celtic resume their league campaign with a home game against Hibs on Monday night and, reflecting on the first half of the season, Postecoglou said: "The six months, if nothing else, has shown progress for us.

"Are we where we want to be? No. I certainly want us to be stronger than what we are at the moment.

"But from where we started and where we ended up there was progress - but I want more.

"I want us to be better, stronger and, to be fair, that would be my answer even if we weren't flying.

"The idea is that we continually seek improvement in the way we play and the way we develop our players, our results, everything.

"But it has been an entertaining six months for everyone. There have been plenty of storylines and hopefully moving forward we continue our progress.

"The most important thing is we vindicate the support that I have had and the team has had in the first six months.

"A big part of my first six months is the supporters who have got right behind the team which is the most important thing for me."

Australian Associated Press