Ange Postecoglou has declared he wants one more signing before the transfer window shuts. And the Celtic manager insisted contingency plans are in place for any last-minute departures.
The Hoops boss has added Tomoki Iwata, Yuki Kobayashi and Alistair Johnston to his squad in recent weeks as speculation grows of the departure of striker Giorgos Giakoumakis to Japanese side Urawa Red Diamond.
It remains to be seen whether the Greek hitman will be allowed to leave the champions with Josip Juranovic, Yosuke Ideguchi and James McCarthy all the subject of possible exits. But Postecoglou is adamant he's more than happy with what he has at his disposal and any recruitment will depend on outgoings with only one new signing on his radar.
He said: “As I’ve said all along, we’re in a position now where we’ve done some good business so far, and the three boys that have come in have adapted really well, and I think they will contribute over the course of the season.
“We’re in a position where we aren’t really being forced into doing anything, and as a coach, it’s the position I wanted us to be in. For me, it would have been a lot trickier if guys had already left and we were having to bring guys in at the last minute, so for me it is just about concentrating now on the task at hand and dealing with what is before me.
“If people exit, then we have plans in place already that will counter that, but having brought in three players already we are in a position where we aren’t on tenterhooks about who is coming in or who is leaving.
“Our plans are in place, and the plan is to bring in at least one more, so we’re still working on that and if anything else is needing to be done then we are in a good position to do it.”
Celtic host St Mirren on Wednesday in a Premiership clash before a home Scottish Cup fourth round tie with Morton on Saturday and Postecoglou has pledged to make changes against the Buddies with first team bows for either Iwata or Kobayashi both outside bets to get a taste of the action.
He said: "I’ve still to make the final decisions but there will be some changes for St Mirren It depends. Tomoki probably not yet, he only really joined us in the last week and he has missed a bit.
“Yuki is close, he came to us having started a pre-season camp, so he’s had a good three or four weeks of training. He obviously lacks some game-time, so we’ve got to find that game-time for him and I think you will find we will probably give him some of that through the next couple of fixtures with the quick turnaround from midweek to Saturday. He’s definitely close, but for Tomoki, it will probably be another week or so before he’s in a condition to be given an opportunity.”
Postecoglou also expects to include Sead Haksabanovic after a spell on the sidelines for the Montenegrin through injury. He said: “He’s good. He’s trained all week. Sead, Anthony Ralston, Stephen Welsh and James McCarthy are now all training fully and are available, which is good I think, as I’m keen to get them all back involved.”
READ NEXT
