Celtic boss wants to give Kyogo Furuhashi a rest; confirms he'll need to keep playing

By David Walton

August 19, 2021

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has confirmed he would “love” to give striker Kyogo Furuhashi a rest but has to keep playing him for momentum.

The Japanese sensation has been a smash-hit despite only being at Parkhead for less than three weeks. Kyogo made his debut for the club at Tynecastle in a 2-1 loss to Hearts. Since then he’s started in all five matches he’s been involved in.

It’s been incredibly difficult for Postecoglou to find time to give him a break. With six goals in six games, he’s in undroppable form, and has to play even if we’re playing every three/four days.

And that’s something the Celtic boss is trying to juggle as admitted he would love to provide Kyogo with a breather at some stage.

As quoted by the National after last night’s 2-0 win over AZ Alkmaar, Postecoglou said: “He’s always a threat, always causing problems with the positions he takes. He’s a smart footballer.

“But you saw how hard he worked tonight. Defensively, he puts in a tremendous shift. 

“He’s another one we would love to have a break, soak it all in and enjoy it.  But we’ve got to keep playing him because we’re building momentum.”

Celtic getting plenty of energy from Kyogo Furuhashi

Postecoglou is managing to squeeze so much from a small core group of players at the moment. Whilst we undoubtedly have some depth, there are clearly certain players the manager isn’t prepared to entrust.

Furuhashi certainly isn’t one of those. The former Vissel Kobe man has been giving his all every few days for the Celtic cause. The fact that all five of his starts have seen him put in superb displays says a lot about his stamina.

However, it’s clear Postecoglou is trying to rest him when he can. Furuhashi hasn’t played 90 minutes since he joined the club. In all six appearances, he’s either come on as a sub or featured for around 65-70 minutes.

The manager has been keen to take him off when given the chance. It happened again last night when he lasted 74 minutes against Alkmaar.

But it’s no surprise to hear that he’ll continue to start. Celtic simply can’t afford to stop now. After St Mirren on Saturday, we have a monumental second-leg against AZ before the first Glasgow derby of the season at Ibrox days later.

Once those games are over, a well deserved break awaits with two weeks between Ibrox and our next match at home to Ross County. So even though the manager wants to rest him, we need Kyogo and co to power on for now.

In other news, The brilliant Ange Postecoglou moment last night that highlights Celtic mentality change