ANGE POSTECOGLOU has rubbished the notion that Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi has not been at his best this season as he backed the Japanese centre-forward to score his first goal against Rangers this afternoon.
The champions head to Ibrox in confident mood, having won 18 of their 19 cinch Premiership fixtures this term – including a 4-0 win over their rivals earlier in the campaign – and with Furuhashi in ominous form, providing four goals in his last three outings.
A shoulder dislocation sustained during the first derby this season meant that Furuhashi’s goalless run against Rangers continued but his manager believes the injury has not disrupted the forward’s season all that much as he dismissed the idea that the 27-year-old has ever struggled for goals in a Celtic jersey.
“I have just got to check and research when his lean spell was,” Postecoglou said. “There must have been 20 minutes I missed. Because all I know is that from the moment he arrived the guy has just been scoring goals and causing headaches to opposition teams.
“I don’t get this lean spell stuff. Maybe he set the bar high when he first started, but there hasn’t been any time when I have felt that he has been struggling with form or confidence or impact because his impact goes beyond just the goals that he scores. But if you are just measuring it on goals? Mate, I would love to see his goals-per-minute ratio and see who matches up to it.
“He dislocated his should early on in the last game we played against them. He missed a few games against them with injury. But it’s irrelevant to him. He will want to make an impact in every game that he plays and that is what he will be looking to do.
“I don’t think he needs to prove himself, internally anyway. If there are people outside who have still got question marks about him then that is for other people. But internally we know what he can do and what he contributes in every game.
“I am sure he is looking forward to it. He loves playing in the big games. He won a cup final for us last season so there is no doubt he loves the big stage and can deliver.”
Furuhashi appears to be the most likely candidate to lead Celtic’s attack in Govan this lunchtime but further back there are a few selection headaches awaiting Postecoglou. Sead Haksabanovic and Anthony Ralston are still recovering from their respective injuries and are not in contention, while the club’s latest signing, midfielder Tomoki Iwata, is still in Japan.
Celtic’s other two January additions – defender Yuki Kobayashi and full-back Alistair Johnston – may or may not be registered to play by this afternoon but Postecoglou feels comfortable with the options he has at his disposal.
“It is pretty much the same as the other night in terms of injuries,” Postecoglou explained. “No one involved the other night has come out with any issues and the ones who missed Wednesday night will miss this one as well.
“Obviously depending on clearances, Alistair Johnston and Kobayashi potentially could be available as well. They have trained. Obviously, match fitness-wise they are not going to be at the levels of the others.
“Alistair is not too bad because he played at the World Cup, but Kobayashi hasn’t played a full game for a while and is unlikely to start. But in terms of training they have done everything for the last two weeks and worked hard with the team and are ready to go.”
Postecoglou is somewhat spoiled for choice in the middle of the park with Reo Hatate, Callum McGregor, Aaron Mooy and Matt O’Riley all vying for a place in the three-man midfield and the Celtic manager admits he may make a late call on his starting line-up.
“I have got a couple of decisions to make, mate,” Postecoglou added. “It’s not what sort of drives me. I said the other day, whatever plans you may have as a manager, and I guess from the outside it always seems black and white, there are always things you need to factor in to your decision.
“The other day we had Jota sick the day before the game. Even though I had him starting he had to miss out. If I sit here and tell you I know what my starting XI is I will kid myself. We have got two days of training and then we will make those decisions.
“We will have a look at who is moving well, who can make the most impact to start the game with the full knowledge that whoever doesn’t start will be able to make a contribution coming off the bench.”
