Ange Postecoglou could be about to get even more 'lucky' after Celtic’s interim financial results for the final six months of 2022 showed a massive surge in revenue and nearly £60million in the bank.

But what does it all mean?

First of all, it is important to note that Celtic’s income is always front-loaded towards the first half of the year but a near 50 per cent hike to £76.5m compared to the previous season shows the importance of a return to Champions League football.

For just the second time in the club’s history, Celtic can expect to break through the £100m revenue mark and possibly even surpass the record £101.6m posted in 2017-18. It is no coincidence that was the last time there were Champions League nights at Parkhead prior to this season.

The outlook is very bright for the future too, with a place in the group stages on offer again for the winners of the Scottish Premiership this season and a nine-point advantage at the top of the table.

READ MORE: Celtic's player trading model & the European football 'second class' transfer gap

Turn that lead into another title and Postecoglou has every right to be hammering down Michael Nicholson and Peter Lawwell’s door demanding a transfer kitty in excess of what he has spent in his first two seasons in charge, much to Michael Beale’s chagrin.

In contrast to other seasons when Celtic have posted big profits for the first six months of the season, player sales were not a major part of the equation.

Gains from player trading was just £1.8m, primarily from the departure of Christopher Jullien. That was down £24m on the previous year when the sales of Odsonne Edouard, Kristoffer Ajer and Ryan Christie provided the funds for Postecoglou’s transformation.

The latest figures do not account for the January transfer window. But the sales of Josip Juranovic and Giorgos Giakoumakis outweigh the outgoings on Alistair Johnston, Yuki Kobayashi, Tomoki Iwata and Oh Hyeon-gyu, which will help mitigate losses during the second half of the season as Lawwell referenced in his first chairman’s statement.

Celtic Way:

In line with previous years, end-of-season profits will not be as bountiful as the £33.9m posted in the six months to December. In simple terms, Celtic’s costs for the second half of the year are more than their income due to a lack of European prize money, ticket sales and lower retail sales post-Christmas.

That will eat into some of that cash in the bank. Lawwell’s statement also made it clear that, when future payments and incomings from previous transfer dealings are taken into account, Celtic’s cash position ‘reduces’ to £50.2m.

But that still makes the Hoops the envy of every club in Scotland and should provide the foundation to realise Postecoglou’s ambitions on the field.

In response to the jibes from the Rangers manager in recent weeks, the Australian delivered a clear message that could be directed just as much to his bosses as his fans. 

"I don’t mind people saying we have the biggest budget because we have the biggest fanbase and we are the biggest club," he said. "People forget that money is on the back of supporters who don’t have a lot of money and choose to spend a significant portion of it on this football club.

“My role is not to get their money and stick it in the bank. It’s to get their money and reinvest it in the thing they love. That’s my responsibility.”

Supporters do not celebrate a balance sheet and the “responsibility” Postecoglou refers to is continuing to make the financial advantage count in Scotland and make more of an impact in Europe.

With greater risk also comes reward. Every point in the Champions League group stage, of which Celtic only picked up two this season, is worth just shy of €1m.

Postecoglou was backed to the tune of around £20m last summer but the vast majority of that money went on making sure the team did not go backwards in tying down Jota, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Daizen Maeda to permanent deals.

Based on Postecoglou’s track record in the transfer market, a similar investment in new faces this summer should make Celtic better equipped for another stab at the Champions League group stages next season.