Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou remains entirely relaxed about the situations of Josip Juranovic and Giorgos Giakoumakis, insisting nothing has yet come across his desk that he needs to deal with.
There’s so much noise around both players at this point in time with claims of transfer offers, bidding wars and wantaway attitudes.
However, for Postecoglou, the evidence seen in training outweighs all of that and he feels it’s been a good week on that front ahead of a crucial semi-final.
Speaking about all the transfer speculation and how it could impact players, the Celtic boss told The Scottish Daily Mail [14/01 print edition, page 119]: “The evidence for me is what I see in training. We’ve had a really strong week and got just about everyone back in the group, which means it’s pretty competitive at the moment. That’s the key thing for me and they are all ready to go.
“When it comes to my desk, then I’ll know there’s something there that we need to discuss. But at the moment there has been nothing. I’m just dealing with what’s in front of me and I’ve had a clear training week in terms of dealing with those kinds of issues.
“All our players are here and part of this football club. If at any stage they need clarification about their future or what they feel is in their best interests, then I will have discussions with the boys to work out a way forward.
“I don’t instigate discussions which dictate players’ futures. I really believe that the players themselves are the ones who hold the key to where their careers lie and if there’s ever an issue, they come to me about it and we find a way forward.”
Postecoglou hasn’t relied on either player to start matches in recent weeks but it seems he is more than happy to have them around the squad and contributing.
It’ll be interesting to see who he goes with at right-back today while the upcoming mid-week match at home to St Mirren looks ripe for a Giakoumakis selection if he is still around.
With both players involved in training all week up to yesterday, the smart money is on them both again being in the match squad at Hampden despite an appetite from some for all the rumours to mean a premature goodbye.
January exits still appear likely by the end of the month, but the manager is indicating both will play a part until teams actually come in with credible official offers. That doesn’t appear to have happened yet.
In other news, Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou laughs off bitter Rangers claim.
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