Ange Postecoglou lauds 'unbelievable' player ahead of Celtic derby; selection hint

By John McGinley

April 29, 2022

Celtic manager has dished out significant praise for Kyogo Furuhashi ahead of the upcoming clash against Rangers.

Kyogo is still making his way back to full match fitness after suffering a hamstring injury in December. Last week’s start against Ross County in Dingwall was his first start of the year.

He looked bright in that one, at least in the first half, powering a heading into the back of the net and generally causing Malky Mackay’s side all sorts of problems.

The smart money would be on him starting Sunday’s derby, especially after comments given to Sky Sports this afternoon.

Postecoglou said: “He’s a special player. We saw it at the start of the year – he came in mid-season from Japan and hit the ground running. He has unique qualities that only a certain kind of player have in moments in big games, particularly in big games. He wants to be the man in that position.

“His movement is unbelievable. He’s just got a really strong mentality in himself that when the big moments arrive he’ll be the man there. We’re going to need that on Sunday because it’s going to be another tight contest. If it does come to him, he won’t shy away from it.”

Ange isn’t afraid of a few cryptic selection comments prior to big games. We’ve seen that a few times this season. However, you have to read into these comments that Kyogo will be his go-to striker on Sunday.

Remarkably, Kyogo has yet to face Rangers in his natural position when fully fit, so this could be a real game to announce himself as a major player in this derby.

If Celtic can be aggressive and get the fluid front three on the ball early vs Rangers, it could be a good afternoon for us with the quality we have.

In other news, Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has just effortlessly wound up all the right people.