Celtic were, and still are, under the microscope this week after the club’s exit from the league cup against Kilmarnock.
The 1-0 defeat ended Brendan Rodgers’ hopes of early season silverware but also ended the Celtic fans hopes of another treble.
The teams lack of creativity has been mooted as the main issue by various Celtic pundits in the media and for Hoops player, Peter Grant, has gotten involved.
Grant explains how the new role Kyogo Furuhashi has adopted under Brendan Rodgers was one of the reasons why Celtic looked toothless in the final third at Rugby Park.
Grant said [The Go Radio Football Show], “I’ve watched a lot of Celtic’s preseason games as well and I listen to him [Brendan Rodgers], and all I hear him saying is, ‘Play forward’. Brendan is shouting that constantly to them.
“So it’s not down to the manager. That’s the players on the pitch to be brave enough to do. And there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be. But that’s what I’ve seen.
“But see if you’ve not got a focal point and he comes too deep, then all of a sudden you’ve got nobody to play with.
“So all of a sudden you are going to go that extra pass square. Whereas if you’ve got could someday leading the line and beyond, you stretch them or take them as far back as they can possibly go and make it uncomfortable for them. Which Kyogo predominantly does.
“Once he starts coming in, if I’m those three central defenders, I’m as happy as Larry because I’m thinking, ‘Ya beauty, you’re in front of me. you’re not on that shoulder of mine.”
Will Brendan Rodgers revert Kyogo’s role at Celtic?
It’s hard to say. Kyogo dropping deeper did seem to be very effective during preseason as it allowed the midfield to drop into more attacking positions.
But that just didn’t happen on Sunday. The team looked devoid of ideas in the final third and as we searched for the equaliser, at one point we saw Kyogo at the halfway line trying to get involved in the play.
There is no doubt the Japanese striker is dangerous when he plays just of the opposition defenders. His lightning pace means he is a handful and they can’t take their eye off him for a second.
But Rodgers is likely to stick to his methods. After just three games he will believe that it will come good as the players adjust to his style.
And there is no doubt once we start to get our main players back from injury, there will be an automatic uplift in performance.
But for now, we look to St Johnstone on Saturday and hope that we see a marked improvement as we look to defend the title.
In other news, Matt O’Riley offers some sound reasoning for Celtic’s early season form
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