Ange Postecoglou insists Celtic's squad must rotate in such a short space of time but says everyone in the Parkhead building is desperate to play.
Celtic are three from three since the resumption of league action after the World Cup with Postecoglou's men sitting pretty with a nine-point advantage over rivals Rangers but the Aussie boss admits he will be forced to freshen up his starting eleven in the midst of a busy schedule in to the new year.
Postecoglou also believes Lee Johnson's side is starting to come together and highlighted a key Hibees star as a warning for the Easter Road clash. He told the club's website: “It will be a tough challenge, especially at their ground. I remember last year, we drew a game there and it was a tough game for us, so it’s a great stadium, they’ll get a good crowd and it feels like a big game, so it’ll be a good challenge for us.
READ NEXT: What Tomoki Iwata will bring to Celtic as previous reason Ange Postecoglou signed him revisited
"Lee’s really determined to get them playing a certain way. That’s not easy until they have the players who want to play that style, but I think with a couple of more transfer windows you can see what he’s trying to do. They’ve got some real attacking threats, particularly with Kevin Nisbet coming back now as well, so it’ll be a good challenge for us.
“But we’re in a good run of form, we’re really focused on ourselves at the moment and being the best team we can be, and that’s what we’re going to have to deliver on Wednesday.”
He added: “It’s an important part of us as a team that the guys are prepared to put a shift in when required. Everyone wants to play every game but it’s impossible to do if we’re going to maintain the levels of performance that we need with the schedule we have.
“We need players out there all the time with energy, and our medical team, our sports scientists have done an outstanding job this year in terms of keeping our best players on the park all the time, and I think it’s helped that I’ve been able to rotate the squad and keep players fresh.
“Liel Abada definitely deserved to start on Saturday but, again, it’s such a short turnaround that, having James Forrest available and knowing what he can do, it made sense for us to make that change, and the same on the other side with Jota and Daizen. And Aaron Mooy’s come back from the World Cup, he’s in great condition, so we’ve got really good players and we’re going to utilise them.
“We’ve had a strong squad all along and we’re going to need it moving forward, not just for competition for places but to be able to maintain the levels of performance that we need.”
READ NEXT:
- Kris Boyd in 'nowhere near' Rangers standard verdict despite Aberdeen rescue mission at Pittodrie
- Rangers boss Michael Beale in 'that's what Scotty does' assessment as he praises Pittodrie hero
- Hibs vs Celtic on TV: Channel, kick-off time and live stream details for Easter Road clash
