Ange Postecoglou reckons his rotation policy in the striking position has been ‘unfair’ on Kyogo Furuhashi this season but has insisted it has needed to be done.
Kyogo has been sharing starting eleven duties with Giorgos Giakoumakis over the last couple of months and while both players have been scoring goals, some criticism has also come their way.
For the Celtic boss, intermittent form has been in part because of a stance designed to avoid the injury problems of last season. With two viable options, it’s about using both of them for the benefit of the club as a whole.
Asked about Kyogo’s return to prominence today in the win over Livingston, Postecoglou said in a post-match press conference [Glasgow Times]: “I think we’ve been a little bit unfair to him. As a striker, you love a run of games. This time last year, he was scoring every week because I was playing him every week. Then he did his hamstring and he was out for two months. I wasn’t going to let that happen again this year.
“Having him and Giako means that we can get goals out of both of them. In a normal season, you’d be saying one of them will probably have a bigger run at it like Kyogo did last year. I’m really mindful that we need to get the best out of both guys for our team performance.
“Kyogo being in and out probably hasn’t helped him but he is a quality striker. I see him every day. He was a threat last year and he will be a massive threat this year. He is improving all the time.”
There are often calls for Giakoumakis or Kyogo to get a consistent run in the team. But the high-intensity style Postecoglou demands means that rotation is inevitable.
The manager wants all his top players at peak health and fitness for the second, most important, half of the season. There’s no use burning them out now when we can consistently pick up results, utilise both players’ strengths and keep them fit.
It’s not as if they aren’t contributing – they have 17 goals between them already this season, with the Japanese international one ahead of his teammate on nine.
Critics of the rotation policy have to get used to it because it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. And Postecoglou has shown it works well, save for one blip against St Mirren.
In other news, David Martindale’s bizarre take on Celtic penalty incident vs Livingston.
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