'I don't get this narrative' - Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou snaps back at Kyogo Furuhashi question

Any derby between the Glasgow behemoths produces all manner of plotlines.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou simply isn’t having the one that is being sketched out around Kyogo Furuhashi, though. The 27-year-old may have netted 15 goals this season - seven of these in his past eight league outings. That may have maintained his phenomenal strike-rate across 17 months at the club; 35 goals plundered in only 57 appearances. However, even with these numbers, a sense that the £4.7m signing from Vissel Kobe hasn’t produced the garlanded form of his debut season has taken root. And the focus on what has still to flower for Furuhashi in Celtic colours is seeded in his record against Rangers. Although failure to find the net in the club’s frustrating Champions League campaign must also be factored to the player failing to be spoken about in quite the same rosy terms of a year ago.

There is a sense Furuhashi needs to score against the Ibrox club for him, truly, to be a made magician for Celtic. The Japanese frontman has yet to have a significant input into a win over the club’s bitter rivals. Injuries, and deployment, haven’t helped his cause. Postecoglou’s men have won only one of the four derbies he has started. That came with 4-0 thumping at Celtic Park in September - an encounter in which Furuhashi was forced off after only five minutes with a shoulder problem. The latest iteration of the fixture that takes Celtic to Ibrox for first footing would seem to offer a perfect opportunity for the dervish destroyer to put his best one forward and break his derby duck. Such a goal could be important in the perception of him and allow him to build on recent good form, it was put to the Celtic manager. Who appeared to treat the contention as if it were downright offensive.

“It doesn’t make any difference to me,” Postecoglou said. “You say he has been in good form recently but he is the top scorer in the league [with 14 goals]...He has been outstanding since he has come to Scotland. I don’t get this narrative that maybe he has struggled at some point. But that’s fine. And for us it’s not just about the goals he brings, it’s about the energy he brings and the way he closes the opposition down.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has insisted Kyogo Furuhashi is an important player - regardless of his scoring record. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

“He is a really important part of our team. If he doesn’t score but we play well then I have no issues with where that puts Kyogo in terms of his pedigree as a footballer for me. Yes, he will want to score because he wants to score in every game for sure. But in terms of his contribution to the team, from the moment he has arrived he has been outstanding for us. He is a very clever footballer. He is constantly moving and looking at the options.

“And it’s not just about the attacking perspective, he is also a big part of our defensive structure. Even when defenders have the ball he gives them no rest. That can be disconcerting for a defender because you tend to focus on the striker when the opposition have the ball. With Kyogo you have to focus on him when you have the ball because if he pinches it off you in that high area he is a threat. Look, his all-round game is just exceptional.”