Sead Haksabanovic insists there’s no Japanese huddle at Lennoxtown – and Celtic’s Far East stars are the jokers in the Parkhead pack.
The Montenegro international revealed the likes of Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate and Tomoki Iwata have all integrated into a cosmopolitan squad with no cliques. Haksabanovic believes it’s a united nations with everyone working under the one flag. He said: “They are jokers, they are friendly and get along with everyone in the team. I don’t really see them as Japanese because they are so good and they go with different players and don’t stay as a group.”
The 23-year-old also reserved special praise for Hatate who is February’s player of the month. He said: “He’s a top player. He knows when to dribble, when to pass. It’s easy to play with him.” Haksabanovic has mainly been seen as a late cameo substitute since returning from injury. He lamented not being on the scoresheet during last weekend’s Viaplay League Cup trophy win over Rangers and he’s adamant he’s desperate for a sustained run in the team.
He said: “I am never happy, even if I score 10 goals. Of course there’s more to come. I was unlucky not to score against Rangers but I don’t get down, I focus on the next game and hopefully I can show my best there.
“You want to play every game but I am also fine with it because it brings the best out of you. In every training session and game you have to show you want to play.”
The first piece of silverware of the campaign has only served to whet Haksabanovic’s appetite for more success this season. But he insists clinching the title as soon as possible isn’t the priority with the club’s focus on today’s trip to St Mirren.
He said: “We are taking it one game at a time and mostly focusing on what game we are playing at the weekend or a midweek. The team are still hungry and want to win more but we are focusing on St Mirren now.
“We believe in the manager and do it every day in training. We don’t relax, we want to win every game. Everybody is training 100 per cent and wants to take a spot and wants to play.
“It’s always nice to win a trophy and I am very happy. My memories will be of just celebrating with the team, having fun and being happy with the boys. That’s lovely. But I would have a better memory if I’d scored.”
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