Fringe benefits
‘It’s not good’: Postecoglou worried by Furuhashi Celtic’s B team give it their all to beat Betis despite dead rubber. Pages 2-3
ANGE POSTECOGLOU was last night sweating over the fitness of star man Kyogo Furuhashi after the he limped off against Real Betis in the Europa League. The Celtic manager had planned to rest his striker, but an early injury to Albian Ajeti meant the Japanese international was thrown into the action after just 30 minutes.
Kyogo later limped off himself and looked to be clutching his hamstring as he was replaced by Ewan Henderson on 70 minutes.
Celtic will already be without Jota for the upcoming Premier Sports Cup final and it now looks like Kyogo will join the Portuguese on the sidelines.
Postecoglou admitted: “It is not good. We’ll just need to see how he is.
“We would have preferred to maybe give Kyogo a bit of a rest tonight but with Albian also getting a hamstring issue we are just going through a bit of a rough time at the minute.
“We are getting a few injuries. The amount of games we are playing is just ridiculous.
“We don’t have the squad to deal with it. Luckily tonight we got 90 minutes into some guys who will hopefully help us moving forward.”
On the win, Postecoglou continued: “We went at them. We had to fight hard at times and I am pleased for the players. They were rewarded for their efforts.
“The boys who started and haven’t played for a while, it is not easy for them. I said to them after the game ‘that is why you work hard every day’. They are a credit to themselves and the club.”
Celtic fans took part in a continued protest against the potential appointment of Bernard Higgins throughout the 90 minutes and Postecoglou admitted he missed the rocking atmosphere of Parkhead.
He added: “The fans are supporting as they always do. I prefer the stadium to be as loud as it can be.
“It is better for our players and for our supporters, I think that is why they come to the game.”
Celtic head into the Europa Conference League in the new year, with Bodo/Glimt, Maccabi Tel Aviv, PAOK, Partizan Belgrade, Qarabag, Randers, Slavia Prague and either Tottenham or Vitesse their potential opponents.