ANGE POSTECOGLOU insists his Goalden Bhoy Kyogo Furuhashi can still improve.
The Japanese striker was honoured by his fellow-Premiership professionals as well as his Celtic team-mates as he picked up both their Player of the Year awards.
Kyogo fired blanks in the six-game Champions League group stage home and away against Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk this season as the Hoops finished a disappointing rock bottom in the section.
SILVER CELTS…beaming Ange Postecoglou and two-goal Kyogo Furuhashi after the 2-1 League Cup Final success in February.
The 28-year-old frontman is determined to do better – as CQN reported earlier today – and the manager witnesses daily the drive in his player to perform among Europe’s elite.
Postecoglou admitted: “Yeah, absolutely. He is constantly challenging himself.
“I have said before, he has got a real pleasant nature about him, he is constantly smiling. But he is a competitor. He wants to win, he wants to be the best, he wants to score goals in every game.
“I see that every day in training. His team-mates know that. He has got a real hunger and desire to be the best striker he can be. I still think there is a lot of improvement in him.”
Kyogo has now claimed half-a-century of goals at the club since his £4.6million from J-League Vissel Kobe in July 2021 and his consistency in putting the ball in opponents’ net has naturally led to other clubs taking notice of his penalty-box exploits.
THAT’S MY BHOY…Ange Postecoglou embraces Kyogo Furuhashi in a game at Fir Park as assistant boss John Kennedy looks on.
Quizzed if he was confident of his star hitman remaining at Parkhead, Postecoglou, speaking to the Daily Record, answered: “As confident as I am about keeping any other player.
“You always want to keep every player, but I have been involved in this game for so long that I know that’s not how football works. You prepare to keep everyone, you prepare to lose everyone.
“All you can try and do is make sure that the players are in a good space, are happy, are improving, they are enjoying their football. That is all you can do.
“You can’t chain them down, it is their football careers, their lives they have to make decisions on. What I do know is he is really happy at the football club, he loves playing for the football club, he loves the supporters, he loves his team mates.
“Hopefully, he is here for a very long time.”
