Ange Postecoglou has insisted there’s no reason to be worried about the situation surrounding Josip Juranovic at Celtic after a poor performance against Rangers on Monday.
Juranovic struggled after coming into the match as a left-back following an injury to Greg Taylor. For some, it was concerning to see such an ineffective impact in the context of swirling transfer rumours and supposedly stalled contract talks.
However, Postecoglou believes there’s no reason to draw conclusions in that regard and hasn’t seen any signs from the player himself that there is anything that needs to be addressed.
Speaking in a media conference today, the Celtic boss said: “He’s fine. He wasn’t 100% but at the same time, all our players know when they cross that white line they’re 100%. Josip didn’t have the best game last week, he wasn’t the only one. Particularly through the middle part of the game. We weren’t at our best.
“He’s been an outstanding contributor for us for 18 months. He’s been an unbelievable acquisition and done an unbelievable job, culminating in an unbelievable World Cup for himself. He’s a highly valued member of this team. He works hard every day, and trains hard every day.
“I’ve got no issues with Josip. Last week, as I said, circumstances meant it wasn’t his best performance for us but in terms of his contribution to us – I’ve got no issues. He’s still very important.
“I spoke to him when he first got back. I get people want to draw conclusions to things but a lot of that is just emotion, particularly supporters and observers.
On a weekly basis, our process is the same. We give feedback to the players, I do it collectively, they get individual feedback from the other coaches. Nothing changes. If there’s an issue, usually my door is wide open, but it comes through to me.
“Again, I’m a pretty observant guy. If I think I need to jump in somewhere I will but there’s nothing in Josip or anyone else at the moment that suggests I need to sit down and have a chat with them.”
Postecoglou went on to say Juranovic has been training well, which suggests he’s a contender to feature in some capacity at home to Kilmarnock tomorrow.
It remains to be seen how the manager will handle the full-back positions in the absence of Greg Taylor with many options on the table.
At least, from the manager’s perspective, there are no outside forces impacting Juranovic’s commitment to Celtic right now. So hopefully we can see him return to form soon.
In other news, Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou just gave one of his best-ever media responses.
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