Ange Postecoglou says "one man's opinion" is not the be all and end all for Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate after Japan boss Hajime Moriyasu snubbed the Celtic pair for international duty.
Daizen Maeda has been called upon but just like the World Cup last winter, his Parkhead teammates are being left at home. Moriyasu questioned the strength of the Scottish Premiership when probed on why he left both out but Postecoglou isn't having that with success stories aplenty for players who've come and gone from the nation's top flight.
But the Celtic manager also isn't getting bogged down by the Land of the Rising Sun gaffer's decision: "Both boys are playing really well and it's disappointing for them that they haven't been selected. But that's the nature of international football, it comes down to the national team manager's decision. In terms of whether it's disrespectful, whatever decisions they make, it's one person's opinion. We had five players at the world cup who did OK, probably better than OK. Josip Juranovic and Moritz Jenz leave our football club and they're playing regularly in the Bundesliga which is a top five league.
"I don't think the selection of individual players comes down to the level of the league. There's been plenty of players who have left us and left this league and gone to the biggest leagues in the world and done very well.
"Plenty of footballers in the Scottish league have done extremely well at international level and plenty of players from the top five leagues have struggled in the Premiership. One man's opinion doesn't mean it's wrong, but it doesn't mean it's the case either.
"There wouldn't have been many greater disappointments than missing selection for the World Cup and if you look at how the two lads have responded to that, they're playing better than ever. They're really determined young men and they're going to get to the top of the game either way."
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