Ange Postecoglou refuses to 'fall in love' with his Celtic players as he addresses Giorgos Giakoumakis future

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou refuses to give thought to the desirability of not allowing players to move on after being burned over that in his early trackside days.

An all-action half-hour cameo from substitute Giorgos Giakoumakis in the 2-0 home win over Kilmarnock - the big striker twice hitting the goal frame - appeared to show his commitment and value to Celtic’s cause in the face of incessant speculation he is seeking a fresh challenge, and will be sold.

The Greek’s performance drew plaudits from his manager but asked if he was keen to see the 27-year-old remain at the club, he chose to avoid offering a direct response.

“I don’t think about those things,” he said. “I don’t think about who I want to keep or who wants to leave. I just work on the basis of the group I have in front of me. If anything changes I deal with it. People have their own ambitions in their football career. My goal is to make sure we are supporting them in their endeavours. If they think opportunity is better for them elsewhere then we will go through that process.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou on the touchline during the 2-0 win over Kilmarnock. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

“I don’t think about it because I may want to keep all of them but I could get offers in for them. I think it was my first year of coaching that my favourite player left me after two games because he had a better offer so I have never fallen in love with them.

“I just deal with what is in front of me. Jacko has been working hard and Kyogo [Furuhashi] is in great form, scoring every week. So he is having to come on and make a contribution and he hasn’t flinched from that. He has tackled that task. Apart from the fact he was unlucky not to score today, his work-rate, his tracking back, the way he was holding the ball up for us, he was good.”

Following what the Celtic manager termed a “sticky” first period, his side battered the visitors’ goal without much reward on the back of him committing a raft of substitutions. A fact he considered a key takeaway against a Rugby Park side they will meet again in the Viaplay League Cup semi-final next Saturday.

“Jacko he worked his socks off, and he has all the time [and that was true of] all the boys that came on. James [Forrest] had a couple of unbelievable chances, David Turnbull was unlucky a couple of times, Liel [Abada] was great. The guys coming on are making a huge impact for us, which is important. People talk consistently about who starts for us, but it’s just as important who finishes the game. If we are going to be this team that is relentless, people coming on need to make a contribution.”