As the excitement grows in the build-up to Celtic’s game tonight with Hibs, much of that is not simply down to the resumption of football after the winter break, instead a great deal of the anticipation surrounds the first opportunity to see Celtic’s three new signings perform for the first time at Celtic Park.
Who get the nod to start the game and who has to settle for a place on the bench remains to be seen, however going forward Ange Postecoglou is keen to see the collective descriptions of ‘the Japanese signings’, alongside Kyogo Furuhashi discarded and instead respect shown to the individual talents of each player.
As reported in Daily Record Ange Postecoglou portrays an image of a protective manager and one who is keen for them to be judged on their own merits, their own careers to this point and how the develop individually as they settle into Celtic and Scottish football.
“We have to be careful about just saying ‘four Japanese players’. These are four individuals who are totally different people. And they’re totally different types of players too.
“It’s a bit lazy for us all to say, I’ve just brought in four Japanese. I’ve brought in four quality players who I think can add to what we’re doing here. They have different personalities and they’ve had different career paths so far. They each will offer something different to the club.
“The reason I went down this road is two fold. One, I have great knowledge of that market in that part of the world because it’s where I’ve worked. And two, it’s ideal for the January market because their season finishes in December.
“I knew this after the summer window and that’s when we started working on it. If we want to get players in the January window, it’s a good part of the world to do business in. But don’t assume we’ve just brought in ‘four Japanese players’. We’ve brought in four top quality players who can all contribute to our club.”
Of course, it is understandable when players from one country all arrive at the club at the same time, and are joining a compatriot that has already made a strong impression, in Kyogo, that all those players will likely be grouped together.
Yet perhaps Ange is concerned there could be future negative connotations surrounding a stand-alone clique emerging, or perhaps a group who are labelled some sort of favourites with the manager.
It makes sense then that Ange is keen for the players to integrate into the group quickly and be viewed individually rather than collectively. That of course will happen, as in time the novelty of having four Japanese players will wear off and they will be viewed simply as Celtic players. It’s clear Ange would like that to happen sooner rather than later and he believes that will start with captain Callum McGregor and the senior players in the dressing room:
“The reality of it is, they’re not going to help each other integrate into the group. Callum and the senior players in the squad understand that. They’re the ones they’ll be interacting with. Some came to Europe because they didn’t want to be in the environment they were in. They wanted to get away from that – that is why they’re here.
“The fact Kyogo was here WASN’T an attraction to them. And having three other players from Japan wasn’t that exciting for Kyogo. What’s exciting is that we’re bringing another three quality players into the squad. Kyogo is excited about that.
“For the players coming in, they’re now at a big club and want to test themselves at the highest level possible. I get it (the doubts) because it can seem like people who come from the same place are all the same. But I have run into all kinds of different Scots since I came here. And it’s like that all over the world.
“You’ve got to get to know these guys. They can speak Japanese but if they were only interested in continuing to speak Japanese, they’d have stayed in Japan. You’d be surprised. Kyogo’s English is coming along well. Daizen’s English is no problem and the other guys are working hard at it.
“That’s the reason they’ve left their shores. They don’t need home comforts and if they did they’d struggle wherever they went. From our perspective, our support comes from not trying to replicate what they had over there.
“It comes from providing an environment that makes them fulfil their football dreams. That’s why they left their own country to come to a club like this.”
The fact Kyogo’s English is clearly progressing and Daizen Maeda is comfortable enough with the language also, can only help the settling in period and ensure the players feel part of the group. One thing that has been evident is how quickly Kyogo’s own personality was embraced by the other players as he has appeared very much part of a strong team and that bodes well for all of the new players finding their own ways within a tight knit group of players.
Within a few games played all four players will start to be judged for their individual talents by the Celtic support, and you can imagine that will only happen quicker in the dressing room as friendships forge.
For now, there is an understandable grouping of the players as a collective but soon that novelty will wear off as the players personalities and abilities emerge. And that could start to emerge as early as Monday night, and what better way to stand out from the crowd than someone emerging with a debut performance to remember.
Niall J
And for those who missed this one on The Celtic Star, here’s a catch-up chance to check out the photographs given to this site by the former Celtic Director Tom Grant of the demolition of the old Celtic Park and in its place the emergence of the New Celtic Park which we know and love today. These photographs are fascinating and well worth checking out on the link below…
READ THIS…Exclusive – A Phoenix Rising, a House of Steel. Celtic Park Redevelopment Photographs
