Once the excitement of that incredible late winner from Liel Abada against Dundee United to give ten-man Celtic the points at Celtic Park on Saturday, calmed down, everyone’s thoughts moved to the Glasgow Derby and a chance to go top of the league.
And if there were any concerns whatsoever it surrounded Nir Bitton’s sending off and the problem his resulting suspension will cause Ange Postecoglou.
With Callum McGregor only returning to training today, and Yosuke Ideguchi, still recovering from that horrendous tackle against Alloa, options for the No6 role in the Celtic team looked limited. Indeed, it looked like it could be James McCarthy as the last man standing, however with both fitness and stamina a long-standing issue for Celtic’s summer signing a back-up plan may be required. Or maybe Ismaila Soro will be considered by the manager as he contemplates his No 6 dilemma.
Clearly if Callum McGregor is able to play he will and that’s now looking the most likely outcome. But with Bitton suspended there are doubts that the gaffer might entrust either McCarthy or Soro with the job and perhaps might even look for an alternative solution should Calmac have to sit this one out.
Goran Vucevic was working as sporting director at Hajduk Split when he first spotted Josip Juranovic, then playing for first club Dubrava, and speaking to Daily Record, Vucevic reckons that our Croatian right back has all the tools required to step in, given he started out as central midfielder.
“Josip from the beginning was a midfield player. He played amazing in that position and for me he can do an excellent job. I’m sure of it. It wouldn’t be a problem for him as he is so clever in the head with his football that he can do almost any job and the other thing about him is his character.
“Josip is so positive in his mindset. A lot of coaches like him for this reason because he does not have any problems doing different jobs that any coach asks of him. When I signed Josip he was playing for a club called Dubrava. I went to see him and from the very first moment he was a different player from the rest of the guys who were on the pitch.
“He was a midfield player at that time, not a right-back like he is at the moment. He was so good in the middle of the pitch. He was different from the rest because he had a lot of power but also had very good technical ability.
“It was immediate that he was very professional as a footballer and also the character of him was excellent. He was able to settle into us very quickly no problem because of that character and nothing has changed with him in that respect.”
Juranovic has certainly exhibited an ability to play a variety of positions already at Celtic, and given his start in the game began playing more centrally, there may well be merit in Goran Vucevic’s assessment of Josip’s positional versatility. However, it is clear Postecoglou sees the player using his midfield experience to shine in the inverted full back role, and right back certainly seems his most likely position on Wednesday night. Vucevic certainly feels the same, however it is good to know Celtic do have such an option to fall back on.
“Of course it is always better for the player to feature in the position that is absolutely best for him. After some time we prepared him to be a right-back because coach Damir Buric was very good.
“He had the idea to place him at right-back and every day Josip just became better and better in that role. For that reason, he now plays there for the Croatia national team. But he can play three or four positions and one of them is a midfielder, for sure.”
“In each training session, he would offer 100 per cent to the group and it would be the same for the matches. Sometimes he had some slight injuries or problems with fitness but even when he did, he would always say that he wanted to play. That’s what I mean about an excellent character.
“I would say he has now played for around six coaches and each one of them likes him because he is that type of guy that a manager wants to have. The one who will play everywhere, the one who will play when he’s not 100 per cent fit, the one who will keep running until the 90th minute.
“Josip offers everything and it is for these reasons that today he is a player of the national team and Celtic. It is because the work that he does is so good.”
Time will tell how Ange Postecoglou intends to solve the conundrum of who to play in the No6 role tomorrow night. It may well be Callum McGregor can go straight back in, or at least play a part, or Yosuke Ideguchi could be fit to play some minutes, or it may be James McCarthy may be given a chance to sink or swim at Celtic Park, the same applies to Ismaila Soro but it’s interesting to know Josip Juranovic may be a solution to what could be a problematic shirt to fill.
The feeling here at The Celtic Star has been that McGregor will be back for the Glasgow Derby and that looks increasing likely to be the case.
Josip Juranovic incidentally was The Celtic player speaking at today’s media conference ahead of the game tomorrow night, so we’ll hear from him shortly.
Niall J
