The 3 Celtic players who put in extra work at Lennoxtown during winter break holiday

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Ange Postecoglou has identified the 3 Celtic players who put in some extra work at Lennoxtown during their winter break holiday.

The Hoops players were all given a week off at the start of the break after a hectic first half of the campaign. The squad has since come back looking stronger with a host of players having increased their fitness levels.

Giorgos Giakoumakis in particular has returned looking like a player with a point to prove. He notched his second goal for the club against Alloa Athletic on Saturday and looks primed to return to the starting XI in tonight’s game at Tynecastle.

And as he touched on Giakoumakis’ progress in particular, Ange revealed that both James Forrest and Christopher Jullien all came in during the squad’s week off to continue their fitness building.

Speaking via Celtic TV, Ange said: “Yes, that’s the opportunity that exists for Giako now. He’s one of the ones who came in very late in the piece, he didn’t really do a pre-season for us. Didn’t do a pre-season anywhere. Any player would tell you that puts you in behind the 8-ball straight away and then he’s had some setback sin between.

“During the break we gave the players a week off and he kept coming in and did some really good work with the likes of Christopher Jullien and James Forrest. They almost had a mini pre-season. So this is sort of the beginning for him, and now he gets an opportunity to show people why we did sign him and I thought he did well the other night because he hasn’t played 90 minutes.

“He looked pretty strong, took his goal well, and I’m sure he’ll improve from that.”

Giorgos Giakoumakis, Chris Jullien, and James Forrest all put in extra work at Lennoxtown

It’s a promising sign for Celtic supporters that all 3 of the stars mentioned above showed that level of mentality. It would’ve been easy for them to simply try to stay at home and keep the week off with the rest of their teammates. After all, they likely could’ve continued their fitness work whilst remaining at home.

However, there’s a willingness there to make an impression. Particularly for Giakoumakis, who now has a glorious opportunity to prove himself in the coming weeks.

With Kyogo injured and Daizen Maeda away with Japan, Celtic have some massive games coming up in which Giorgos will be the number one striker for. Tynecastle tonight will be followed by Dundee United and Rangers at Celtic Park. Performances and goals in those 3 fixtures will give his Celtic career the serious kickstart it needs.

Forrest, meanwhile, is another who has still to really solidify his place in Ange Postecoglou’s starting XI. The performances of Liel Abada have been keeping James out of the side, with injury also setting him back massively.

Jullien, of course, has been a more serious case having been sidelined for over a year. He was back on the bench against Alloa on Saturday night, and a first-team opportunity is surely not far around the corner for him.

But credit to all 3 men for their commitment to the cause over the winter break. It speaks volumes of their determination to impress.

In other news, The ridiculous lengths Celtic boss had to go to in order to protect his players at Alloa