Giorgos Giakoumakis had a tough start to his time at Celtic, but it appears with the help of his teammates, and no little self-belief, Celtic’s hat-trick hero from the weekend win over Dundee at Celtic Park is building up a head of steam and making up for lost time.
Giakoumakis took the brunt of the criticism as Celtic lost to Livingston at Celtic Park in September. That was probably unfair, given the whole team were in uninspiring form in that particular game, however missing a penalty and a glorious chance soon after put him in the spotlight and it wasn’t as pleasant as his return to it with Sunday’s hat-trick.
However as reported by Scottish Sun, it smells like team spirit at Celtic, win lose or draw under Ange Postecoglou, as Giakoumakis explained the Celtic changing room were protective of one of their own and took responsibility for the loss and performance as a collective and it appears our Greek striker was grateful for the support.
“They helped me a lot. Even after that missed penalty, they all came to me and said it was fine and we would recover the points. We are not kids. We have to make our mentality stronger ourselves.
“It was difficult at the start. But from these difficulties, you grow up. You become much stronger mentally and it was something, in the end, that really helped me a lot. For me it doesn’t matter how I lost the first six months here. It is what it is and I cannot change it.
“Of course, it didn’t make me happy, it was really difficult for me. But now I can say that I am back with the squad, and ready for more chances and more success.”
Giakoumakis was a late arrival at Celtic, he was unable to fully participate in pre-season training, picked up niggling injuries, and even when the opportunity arose for an intense physical intervention during an international break injury struck again.
Come the brought forward winter break however, Giorgos Giakoumakis showed he’s got the right mindset. He remained behind as teammates took time out with family and friends or headed for warmer climes and completed the physical work he’d missed pre-season. As a result, he came back ready to add match sharpness to the improved physical condition he’d gained in exchange for the sacrifices he made.
From the start of 2022 he’s scored six goals – he’d scored only once prior to this year – and his performances have improved markedly, and even when not scoring his leading of the line has been important. No more so than arguably his best performance in a Celtic shirt as he bullied and harassed theRangers backline into submission in a Glasgow Derby where our opponents simply couldn’t handle Giakoumakis.
Now it seems Giorgos Giakoumakis, having learned the responsibility of playing the striker’s role at Celtic the hard way, after that defeat to Livingston, is seeing the other side of the adulation and respect you receive when you perform well.
Over the course of his time with Celtic he will undoubtedly see both sides of that coin again, but on the form evidenced since the turn of the year he can expect more cheers than jeers as the season progresses.
Although Giakoumakis can be thankful to a close-knit changing room for helping him through dark times, it’s his own attitude and sacrifice that has got him to this point, where after a lost six months Celtic’s Greek striker can have a huge say in where Celtic’s title challenge leads in the second half of the season.
And it’s perhaps not just domestically where Giorgos Giakoumakis can have an impact. After all it would take a brave manager to leave out the weekend hat-trick hero when his team head into an away European tie chasing a two-goal deficit. Perhaps the next chapter of the Giakoumakis story will be written in the Arctic Circle come Thursday evening.
Niall J
It was still an awful penalty which most people’s grannys would have made a better job of, but I have to admire his attitude now. Let’s hope he can be the goal scorer that we need! I honestly thought that Georgios was going to disappear into obscurity like so many before him – Scepovic, Boerrichter, Pukki and a few others, but maybe not! I love being proved wrong! Do it, Georgios.