Ange Postecoglou is delighted that fellow countryman Aaron Mooy has made Australia's squad for the 2022 World Cup - adding that he wants his players to feature for Celtic so that they don't lose match fitness.
Mooy, alongside Daizen Maeda, Jota and Josip Juranovic, are the only players to have been called up from Celtic's squad so far ahead of the tournament. With potential call-up for Cameron Carter-Vickers still to come, the Hoops may have just five players on the big stage over the coming weeks despite their strong performances domestically and gaining two points in the Champions League group stage this season.
Many would think to rest said players in a bid to save their legs for the world's biggest tournament, robbing them of a dream that may only come around once every four years. However, Postecoglou insists that whilst he won't 'over-burden' any of his Qatar-bound stars, they will still play as he doesn't wish for them not to be match-fit by the time the group stages come around - whilst also praising Mooy for his dedication.
He said: "Our main focus is still us and trying to maintain a level of performance while making sure we don't over-burden any players. For the most part we have done that. There are two or three who have probably played more than others but for the most part we have rotated the squad with performance in mind. It's no different for these last two games.
"I will pick a team that I think will get the job done for us and gives us the best chance of success and it will be the same on the weekend.
"You obviously hope the guys who are going away come through unscathed but it's one of these things in football, you could try and protect players from anything happening but it could happen in the first training session for their country.
"It's better that we just go about our business as normal as possible. The aim for the players themselves, they would much rather go out and play football and feel good about themselves than go a couple of weeks without playing."
Aaron Mooy is one of those players, having been called up to the Australia squad earlier on Tuesday, although former Hoop, Tom Rogic, is set to miss out after playing just one game for West Bromwich Albion since moving to The Hawthorns in September.
"I'm delighted for Aaron," said Postecoglou. "I'm sure, particularly with his recent form and playing Champions League football, he is as ready as he will ever be for World Cup football, which is going to be challenging in his own right.
"It's fantastic for him. Aaron came in very late, missed all of our pre-season, and hadn't really trained with a team for a long time. I think he is in a good space, physically he feels comfortable now and his football has improved because of that.
"The World Cup exciting for any player, to play against the best in the world, and hopefully he comes back feeling good about things. All our representatives, they obviously represent their club and themselves but us as a club and it will be great to see them all on the world stage."
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