Kyogo hails 'important' training ground work helping develop understanding among Celtic squad

By Lewis Laird

February 9, 2023

Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi has detailed how the understanding with his Hoops teammates has continued to develop.

The 28-year-old has been a goal machine since his arrival from J-League side Vissel Kobe during Ange Postecoglou’s first summer in charge.

After 18 months at Parkhead, the Japanese international has scored an impressive tally of 42 goals in 65 total appearances.

Having returned from injury in early 2022 and missing large parts of last campaign, the frontman has been making up for lost time this season.

Currently, Kyogo is the top goalscorer in the Scottish Premiership, with 19 goals, scoring at a rate of a goal every 81 minutes.

The Celtic forward has continued to impress the support with the variety of his goals, which regularly come from fantastic movements giving opposition defenders no chance.

In order to see Kyogo on top form, his teammates need to be supplying the opportunities, and they have done exactly that this season, with the understanding and relationships among the squad continuing to grow.

Speaking in a recent interview, the striker revealed how the understanding in the Celtic dressing room continues to develop. He also spoke about the importance of his hard work and celebrations following a victory, which Kyogo regularly leads.

He said [Celtic TV]: “Since I joined Celtic around eighteen months ago, through training every day, I’ve grown to understand my teammate’s style of play and vice versa.

“The daily practice is so important in helping build up the understanding of each other.”

He continued: “Our style of play is to put pressure from the front and be aggressive to win the ball back. I press as the first defender on that front line.

“So if I can make it easier on the players behind me by doing that. It does not bother me to chase the ball, no matter how tired you are.

“I am a striker, so I rarely go back to my own end to defend, but I do my best and make it difficult for the opposing defenders.”

Finally, he stated: “When I or my teammates score a goal, any goal makes me happy from the bottom of my heart.

“It is important to show how happy we are. To see the supporters happy and smiling and to celebrate winning with them is very important.

Understanding and strong relationships between the squad have been a big factor in Celtic’s success.

Of course, there are plenty of aspects within this Celtic squad which have had a massive contributing factor to the Bhoys’ success under Ange Postecoglou.

However, one of the major contributing factors has been the understanding and brilliant atmosphere that has been created in the Parkhead dressing room.

Of course, a lot of work goes in on the training field to set the Hoops up for each individual game. But good players also have an understanding of where their teammates are bound to be.

The strong relationships and atmosphere amongst the group also contribute to that, and it is clear to see how much this squad enjoy playing together.

Having a quality player like Kyogo must only make things easier. However, the striker is clearly appreciative of his teammates and knows he must do the hard yards too.

In other news, Darren O’Dea praises 5 Celtic youngsters who stepped up amidst B team injuries.