Ange Postecoglou sets out Celtic challenge as he admits reinvigorated squad were 'running on fumes' before transfer triple swoop
dailyrecord.co.ukAnge Postecoglou insists Celtic’s new Japanese heroes and returning stars will ensure the team copes without crocked Kyogo Furuhashi.
The Parkhead boss was thrilled after his troops made light of the absence of their talismanic top scorer to dismiss Hibs. Attacker Daizen Maeda bagged a goal within four minutes of his debut, while compatriot Reo Hatate produced a Man of the Match show in midfield.
With Jota, James Forrest, Giorgos Giakoumakis back from injury and Yosuke Ideguchi also getting a debut, there were no hassles without Kyogo.Postecoglou says he now has the squad depth to cope with key absentees as he said: “Don’t get me wrong, I would much rather that Kyogo was available and playing. “He has been outstanding, he has been a star, but the whole idea going into the January window was we needed a stronger squad.“I thought at the back end of the first half of the season we did really well, but we were running on fumes.“We got ourselves through that, but we couldn’t do that again.“Hopefully getting the new guys in and also getting guys back from injury will enable us now to rotate the squad and that is going to be important to us.”Asked how long Kyogo would be missing with key games coming up quickly including Rangers on February 2, the manager added: “We’ll see.
He obviously hasn’t recovered as well as we would have liked.“We are just waiting on some firmer advice. Suffice to say, it is something that is going to keep him out for weeks.
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