Tomoki Iwata is undoubtedly one of the Celtic players who could start against Rangers in Reo Hatate’s absence, going by Ange Postecoglou’s comments at today’s press conference.
As we discussed earlier, Hatate has been confirmed as missing this weekend alongside Liel Abada and James Forrest despite trying really hard to recover for the derby.
That leaves the door open for someone else to come in and impress. Despite a lack of Celtic starting opportunities since joining in January, that man may well be Iwata.
The Japanese midfielder made his first Celtic start against Ross County last week in a midfield that also included Callum McGregor and Matt O’Riley. All three are contenders to feature tomorrow, as is Aaron Mooy who returns from a back injury.
Postecoglou would have no qualms about featuring Iwata despite a lack of Celtic experience and has suggested he’ll play a role even if he doesn’t get the pick in the starting eleven.
The Celtic boss responded when asked if this could be a big moment for the player [Celtic FC]: “I thought Tomoki handled it well last week. He’s a player who is probably a bit more experienced than the other lads. I know him well, so I’m pretty comfortable with his progress. I know what he can deliver for us.
“We’ve got Aaron back, we’ve got Tomoki available, and there’s Matty (O’Riley), David Turnbull and Callum McGregor. We’re really strong in that midfield area and that gives us some real options in there. We’re going to need them tomorrow whether they start or they come off the bench and come into the game later.
“It’s going to need every one of us, every one of the boys to get the job done. They’re all ready to go. They’ve had a good week of training and I’ve got a group of players who are ready to perform tomorrow.”
With O’Riley struggling a bit for form recently, a new midfield trio of Iwata, McGregor and Mooy would be exciting to see even with such a high-stakes match to contend with.
He was solid against County and although Celtic had to come through a difficult period in the Highlands, Iwata showed towards the end of the match he can retake control when needed.
Rangers are a different opponent to contend with entirely but, ultimately, we need to know how the January signing handles these occasions and tomorrow seems as good a time as any.
All eyes will be on Ange’s team tomorrow!
In other news, Celtic captain Callum McGregor copes admirably with strange line of media questioning.
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