Giorgos Giakoumakis has had a tough start to his Celtic career but little of that is down to performances on the football field – bar that missed penalty against Livingston of course!
Instead, the Greek striker has simply struggled for fitness, but when it comes to application and a hunger to get back up to speed you can’t fault Giorgos Giakoumakis for effort. While most Celtic players took advantage of the winter break to get some downtime, Giakoumakis saw just the opportunity he needed.
Instead of getting some sun on his back or catching up with friends and family, the striker knuckled down at Lennoxtown and weighed in with strength and conditioning training to ensure he is ready to play his part in the chase for a Treble and a first knockout win in Europe after Christmas since 2004.
Ange Postecoglou confirmed, as reported in Daily Mail print edition, that his summer signing is a player determined to hit the ground running, and his availability for selection couldn’t come at a better time, with Kyogo Furuhashi struggling with a hamstring injury and Albian Ajeti also out injured. Add to that Scottish football has also agreed to reintroduce the five substitutes rule for the second half of the season, then Giakoumakis could see a fair amount of gametime and influence in the weeks and months ahead.
Having arrived without a proper pre-season under his belt, the striker, who was Holland’s top flight top scorer last season, was always playing catch up. When an international break offered the opportunity for a mini pre-season, bad luck struck the striker once again as he picked up an injury and couldn’t get the work done he needed to get back to fitness.
This time however Giakoumakis has taken it upon himself to forego a break and instead has at last managed to get himself the base level of fitness required for first team consideration. Next step will be match sharpness, and you can only get that from games played. As such Giakoumakis will be hoping his sacrifice and application will be rewarded, starting tonight with Celtic’s first game back against Hibs at Celtic Park. If anyone deserves a change of luck, it’s Giorgos Giakoumakis – and by the sounds of it he’s earned it.
Niall J
