Despite a lack of game time, Ange Postecoglou has hailed the contribution of winger Sead Haksabanovic in his treble-chasing Celtic squad.
The former West Ham man has struggled to nail down a starting spot since he arrived at Parkhead in the summer, but he has certainly made an impact when called upon off the substitute’s bench.
Haksabanovic joined the club in August, penning a five-year deal, and he has already scored and assisted on four occasions, which is all the more impressive given his limited number of minutes from the start of matches.
The ex-Rubin Kazan forward was on target again on Wednesday evening as Celtic defeated Hearts at Parkhead in the Scottish Premiership and his manager Postecoglou does not need to be reminded of his talents.
“He’s doing well,” Postecoglou explained. “I know people get fixated on starts but I get fixated on guys contributing. Sead is certainly doing that. He’s contributing every time he’s been on.
“He’s had a couple of disruptions through the year where he’s not had an extended run in the team because of a couple of injuries or other players doing really well in his position.
“But he’s doing really well in training and he’s making an impact in games. If the opportunity arises for him to start then I’m sure he’ll do well.
“That’s not the most important thing for me, it’s him contributing to the side. We are going to need that as you saw the other night Daizen Maeda picked up an injury and James Forrest will be out for a little while.
“All of a sudden we have gone from five wingers to three. That’s why we have these games ready to play and I’m sure Haksa will be ready to do that.”
Haksabanovic’s stunning strike made it 3-1 at Celtic Park in midweek and ensured his side would be maintaining their nine-point gap at the top of the Scottish Premiership table.
Postecoglou was delighted with the victory and the fact that goals are starting to come from across the entirety of his squad.
He continued: “It’s important. We’ve tried to set up the team that way. Obviously, Kyogo gets a lot of goals but we want to be a team with multiple threats.
“Since the World Cup we’ve made slight adjustments to the way we go into the final third and it’s allowing other players to get into advanced positions.
“That’s why we’ve been sharing around the goals. It’s good because having multiple threats, it gives the opposition plenty to worry about.
“We weren’t brilliant the other night, but scoring three goals, we don’t take that for granted. The group has been really strong for a very long time. In the back of your mind you always understand they are human beings and they will have off days.
“I haven’t seen it though. Like the other night, they might not have been at their best but no one could say they didn’t put in a shift. They still find the mentality to get the win and to win convincingly. Credit to them.”
Hearts are the opponents again this weekend as both clubs meet in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals at Tynecastle. Ahead of the game, Postecoglou has hailed Alexandro Bernabei who came in for the injured Greg Taylor on Wednesday night.
He added: “It’s been a bit difficult since the World Cup as we’ve only really had a game a week and Greg has done really well.
“Alexandro is pretty much just a left back so we don’t carry him on the bench for that reason. We have other players who can play a couple of positions so that has meant he’s missed out.
“That doesn’t mean he isn’t working hard in training. Look, he’s a young man and he’s still learning the game.
“It was tough for him and Tony Ralston the other night because in the past when I’ve made rotations it’s been on the back of them playing other games.
“But both hadn’t played for quite a while and I knew it would be a challenge for them.
“Again, the good thing is they had a strong mentality, even if things were not going smoothly for them. They still worked hard and did the team things, and I’m sure they’ll get the benefit.”
