Ange delivers the Giorgos Giakoumakis latest ahead of Livingston vs Celtic

By John McGinley

March 4, 2022

Ange Postecoglou has confirmed Celtic striker Giorgos Giakoumakis has come through training at Lennoxtown the last two days in good shape and is ready to play against Livingston.

Giakoumakis was a surprise omission against Hibernian on Sunday, with Ange later revealing he was dealing with an illness.

Expected back on Wednesday night, the manager again left him out so that he’d be as fresh as possible for the big trip to West Lothian.

Speaking in a press conference today [YouTube], Postecoglou said: “He is fine. I made a decision on Wednesday that it was best not to push him, we had some options.

“He trained on Thursday with the guys who weren’t playing and then trained fully today.

“No-one came out with anything from the game so it’s the same sort of squad plus Giorgos.”

This is particularly good news in the context of the weekend’s fixture because many Celtic supporters believe Giakoumakis holds the key to a victory away to Livingston for the first time in an age.

The Greek international has a physical presence that nobody else has in the squad really has, which could be key against a team that likes to sit deep and historically rough the Bhoys up a bit.

Given he is also in goalscoring form, there’s no reason to think he can’t provide the firepower necessary to win the match and pick up a vital three points.

That’s the script being written anyway. It’s up to Celtic to work hard and stick to that.

In other news, Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has just shown his class again; the men in the photo.