We should have scored even more, says Kyogo
the score into double figures after Jota, Josip Juranovic and Carl Starfelt had also got in on the act.
Speaking after the second hat-trick of his Celtic career, however, Furuhashi reiterated the standards demanded by boss Ange Postecoglou when he claimed that he and his team-mates should have scored more.
‘I am happy with the hat-trick and I am happy with the team and the victory as we scored a lot of goals,’ said the 27-year-old.
‘It is the result of our football and what we have been working on. We are happy with the result, but we still have a lot of things to do.
‘We certainly had more opportunities, but we need to improve our finishing quality — although we have the confidence from scoring nine goals in this game.’
Now on six goals for the season, the £4.5million signing from Vissel Kobe has set a target of 30 after injury curtailed his strike-rate last season.
‘First of all, my team-mates always provide me with good passes. The first aim would be 20 goals and then I would like to reach 30 and more,’ he said.
Manager Postecoglou celebrated his 57th birthday on Saturday, with yesterday’s nine-goal salvo the icing on the cake following his team’s fifth league win out of five.
It was Celtic’s biggest win since defeating Mark McGhee’s Aberdeen by the same scoreline in 2010, and their biggest away victory that bettered an 8-1 rout at Dunfermline in February 2006.
‘It’s the team we want to be, it’s not just about the football we want to play,’ said the Australian. ‘It’s about the intent and we don’t want to be led by the scoreboard or whatever the circumstances of the game are.
‘With respect to whether it’s the first or the last minute, or whether we’re winning or not, we want to play at a certain tempo and intensity.
‘We want to work hard and make sure that everyone is contributing. Today, it would have been very easy to get away from that, it’s not just about winning a game of football, it’s about us setting our own standards within that.’
After Postecoglou (pictured) restored Abada to the starting 11 in place of Daizen Maeda, the Israeli winger responded by claiming his first hat-trick in Celtic colours.
‘Abada did well, he’s been outstanding for us,’ said the manager. ‘He’s only a young man and he’s already scored a lot of goals and had assists so he’s performing at a really high level.
‘He wants to improve and keep getting better. The good thing is our front guys today got their rewards with goals and assists but they also worked awfully hard off the ball.
‘Kyogo was the one harassing their centre-backs when a couple of our counter-attacks were launched.
‘He harassed their centre-backs and won the ball back and he’s another one who’s been outstanding for us since the day he arrived. All of these guys want to get better, to keep improving, and they want to keep working hard. As long as they have that mentality, we will keep going well.’
Warning his players to stay humble and respectful, Postecoglou was asked if he felt sympathy for the plight of his opposite number Jack Ross after the worst day in his managerial career.
‘I don’t think sympathy is the right word as we all know we are in this business and it’s a ruthless business,’ he said.
‘I don’t think Jack needs my sympathy. I absolutely have a respect and understanding about the position he’s in. ‘I’ve always said with every manager that, unless you are in their shoes, it’s very hard to know what they are dealing with or how they are going about things.
‘No manager goes out there to try and not be successful. Of course, there is a part of you that, on the sideline, does feel for what the other guy is going through as we are all in the same kind of game. We didn’t take advantage of that, we stayed respectful in terms of our approach to the game.’
Missing through illness, striker Giorgos Giakoumakis trained at Lennoxtown yesterday and will be back fit for Wednesday’s Premier Sports Cup clash against Ross County in Dingwall.
Fellow striker Albian Ajeti, meanwhile, is a loan target for Spanish second division side Real Santander ahead of the transfer deadline. The £5m striker is also attracting interest from Belgium.