At the end, the Celtic players were serenaded around Hampden, silverware in their hands, golden ticker tape spread across the pitch, deafening noise filling the air marking another treble, another day of history for the Hoops.

This was a day when you watched the action but also watched Postecoglou watching the action, his every gesture happening under a giant footballing microscope. On Scottish Cup final day, Hampden transformed itself into the world’s largest laboratory as the beady eyes of 46,000 Celtic fans studied his body language with a forensic intensity.

What did that wave mean? Was that a goodbye? Why did he say he just wanted to enjoy the moment when asked directly about interest from Tottenham Hotspur? “The time will come for those questions,” he said, which suggested that this was probably the end.

For days now the chat has been that, as soon as the cup final was over, discussions would begin with Spurs. The clock is now ticking.

History adds new dimension to Celtic triumph

There was joy at the confirmation of the treble, Postecoglou’s first and Celtic’s fifth in seven seasons. An eighth in total. Records were broken at Hampden. The old place shook. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t a great final. There was a historical dimension to it that made the fans celebrate like they’d seen the most beautiful game of their Celtic lives. Some would argue that that’s exactly what they’d seen.

It was apt that Kyogo Furuhashi set them on their way. He was quieter than a church mouse for close to 40 minutes. No shots, no possession, no threat. If Inverness Caledonian Thistle thought they could afford to tune out in his airspace then they learned a lesson that many have learned before them.

One distracted moment at the back and Kyogo scored. It was his first touch. Liel Abada made it two. Jota made it 3-1 after a dogged Inverness Caledonian Thistle came back at them. All signed by Postecoglou. All weighing-in on the biggest stage. The three attackers of the apocalypse.

Underlying the joy, for sure, was the growing dread among Celtic people that the Postecoglou era may now be over. Everybody watched for clues, but there weren’t many out there. Postecoglou behaved like he behaved when he won the Premiership last year and this year and when he won the League Cup last year and this year.

He stood in the margins and allowed his players their moment. At the trophy lift, he hung about away to the left side of the podium. When his own time came to lift the cup, a huge roar went up. Was that the last lift?

Five trophies from six attempts is a stellar record, but you got the sense that the Australian was really only getting going, that there would have been more to come, that Europe and Celtic’s possible progression would have been fun to watch.

That’s what happens when you find a gem. He becomes the target of a heist. We’re talking about Postecoglou and Celtic in the past tense here – how the fans will hope and pray that he looks under the bonnet at Spurs and doesn’t like what he sees if that call comes – but there does look an inevitability about this.

‘Postecoglou deserves crack at biggest stage’

There’s a reason why Postecoglou hasn’t said that Tottenham don’t interest him, that the project in London – and it is a hell of a project – has no appeal, that the thought of managing one of England’s biggest clubs in the world’s most high-profile league is not one that excites him.

There were no clues from the Celtic players, no sign of anything from Peter Lawwell and Dermot Desmond watching on. Desmond, the majority shareholder, has fabulous wealth. If he wanted to, he could match whatever salary Spurs might be about to wave under Postecoglou’s nose – Antonio Conte was rumoured to be on £15m a year – but he can’t offer toe-to-toe managerial battles with Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp and Mikael Arteta and Erik ten Hag and all the other heavy-hitters in England.

It’s the biggest stage. As much as it will pain Celtic fans. Postecoglou deserves a crack at it.

The parallels with Spurs now and Celtic before his arrival are obvious. A broken dressing room, a disaffected support, a board of directors under siege, a shambolic recruitment operation. When Spurs conceded five goals in 21 minutes against Newcastle United in April – they lost 6-1 – the words from reporters on the Tottenham beat were remarkably similar to the language used in the dog days of the 10-in-a-row-that-never-was.

No spirit. No confidence. No unity. No organisation. No character. No passion. No accountability. No strategy. Ham-fisted recruitment. A club with no direction. Chairman Daniel Levy went for the quick fix solution of Conte, just as he’d gone for the quick fix solution of Jose Mourinho and neither worked. For reasons only known to himself, he also went for Nuno Espirito Santo.

The manager who brought him significant progress was Mauricio Pochettino, who was a builder, a guy who took his time to get the culture right. Creating the right environment was critical to him. Instilling an identity was key. Chemistry was important to him.

Postecoglou is in the Pochettino mould. Spurs fans know little about him and many have already written him off. He’s used to doubters, though. He had them at Celtic, too. Everywhere he has ever been, he’s won them all over in the end.

In the summer of 2021, he arrived at Celtic as an unknown quantity. If this is the moment that he departs, he’ll be leaving as a hero the fans will never forget.