Giakoumakis insists the best is yet To come at Parkhead
Greek centre-forward endured a slow start at Celtic but has his sights set high after finishing as top scorer
THERE was a common theme to the messages coming out of the jubilant Celtic dressing room on Saturday following the thumping of Motherwell that neatly bookended their Premiership title triumph.
The ‘We Never Stop’ mantra has come to exemplify Ange Postecoglou’s first season at the club, but the next campaign looks to be all about proving that the best is yet to come.
That is certainly the opinion of Giorgos Giakoumakis, on both a personal and a collective level. That the Celtic attack could become even more potent next term will be a discomfiting thought for their opponents, such as the dizzied Motherwell defenders at the weekend just past, but Giakoumakis believes there may be potential for both he and Kyogo Furuhashi to complement each other as part of a devastating front line for the champions.
“We haven’t played a lot together this year for different reasons but it would be really nice and it could work,” Giakoumakis said.
“We are so different in our styles of playing. He’s a little guy with great movement, doing a lot of running down the sides. Perhaps we could have a good partnership.
“I think it works so well for
the team because we are all so different.”
Whether Jota becomes a permanent fixture at the club has yet to be determined, but even adding the perpetual motion of Daizen Maeda into that mix would seem to make a force for any defence to reckon with.
“He can run two 90-minutes in a row!” said Giakoumakis. “His fitness is really good and it really helps us. You see him attacking and then he is back running helping the defence.
“It really suits our game and the way we play. He’s a big player for us. There are exciting times to come.”
It wasn’t all that long ago that the summer excitement over Celtic’s capture of Giakoumakis, the top scorer for lowly VVVVenlo in the Eredivisie in the previous season, had dissipated somewhat after an underwhelming start to life in Scotland.
The Greek striker struggled for form and fitness, as illness and injury hampered his pre-season preparations and almost the entire first half of his campaign.
When he did finally get his first run of games in October, he missed an injury-time penalty as Celtic were held at home by Livingston, before another injury the following month kept him out until after the winter break.
At that point, with just a single Celtic goal to his name, you would have got long odds on Giakoumakis ending the season as not only his club’s top scorer, but the country’s too. But after smashing in 16 goals in the second half of the campaign, that is exactly how things have panned out.
It has been a remarkable upturn in fortunes for the 27-year-old, a trendline that he can only see continuing upwards once he is finally up to full fitness and has a solid pre-season behind him.
“I managed to score two goals on the last day which made me the top scorer of the league and that is something that makes me even happier,” he said.
“Winning the title and being top scorer is a great feeling. It could have been better as I lost three months and a pre-season and this made me a little bit frustrated as I couldn’t be myself.
“I couldn’t feel my body being 100 per cent, so it was tough for the first six months. But in the end, I’m the top scorer. Not with the amount of goals I wanted to score this season, but I cannot be hard on myself. I have to be happy.
“Do I have unfinished business? Yes. I want to be fit and healthy all of the season next year so I can reach the numbers I am thinking about.
“But it’s not about a specific number. It’s about scoring in every single game.
“Of course I will be better next season. Right now I feel I’ve maybe shown 70 percent as I didn’t feel fully fit or healthy in the first six months.
“It will be totally different when I get a full pre-season. I hope next season is going to be amazing.
“I am confident about next season because of the players around me. You need the players around you to be the top goalscorer – because someone has to give you it!
“I have a lot of confidence in my teammates as you know you will have a lot of chances.
“It’s about making sure you are clinical.”
Whether it is his own Greek heritage, or simply the manmanagement skills that have seemed to bring the best out of many of his players this term, Ange Postecoglou was always confident he could get such a tune out of Giakoumakis.
With his manager’s guidance, the forward’s not inconsiderable confidence in his ability is only strengthened further still.
“It’s something really special for me,” he said. “I’ve learned so many things from him and I’ve really improved since I came here.
“I can see the difference in my body and in my levels after just one season.
“Year after year it can be even better. I’m really happy to work with him as he’s helped us a lot.”
So, after a rocky start, Giakoumakis is on the way to holding a similar place in the affections of supporters as another Greek forward who made an impact at the club, in the form of Georgios Samaras.
Giakoumakis though has found a level of consistency that his friend and mentor always struggled to in his goalscoring, something he aims to maintain.
“I haven’t spoken to Samaras this week but I know he’s really happy we won the league,” he said. “He’s a Celtic fan of course.
“He told me a lot of good things about coming to Celtic and he was right.
“I know for sure he will be pleased for me to follow him. I love to score big goals in important games.
“I think I can score even more important ones in even bigger games next season.”