Hyeon-gyu Oh has one of the least enviable jobs in Scottish football. But he also happens to know just the person to turn to for the odd pointer every now and then.
The 22-year-old, a January arrival from Suwon Bluewings in his homeland, was brought to Celtic ostensibly to plug the gap in the squad caused by Giorgos Giakoumakis’ move to Atalanta United after the Greek grew frustrated with the lack of game-time available to him.
There is only one striker slot up for grabs in Postecoglou’s team – we’ll sooner see two goalkeepers in the starting XI than the Greek-Australian playing two centre-forwards – and as it stands, that berth is occupied by the country’s most in-form attacker in Kyogo Furuhashi.
Postecoglou’s rotation policy means that Oh will steadily accrue minutes as Furuhashi’s understudy but on a personal level, the South Korean must surely harbor ambitions of dislodging his team-mate and becoming the club’s first pick up front.
International breaks should help. Oh was part of the most recent South Korean camp where World Cup-winner Jurgen Klinsmann – a man who knows a thing or two about sticking the ball in the net – is in charge, although the thrice-capped player didn’t make an appearance in either friendly.
Klinsmann will be in attendance at Rugby Park tomorrow afternoon and he will be keeping a beady eye trained on Oh, should the striker feature against Kilmarnock. The centre-forward has shown plenty of promise during his brief time in Glasgow so far and Postecoglou hopes his national team manager will be able to help him realise his potential.
“I had an exchange with Jurgen after the camp and he was really happy with Oh in the camp,” he said. “He’s going to continue to develop.
“That was his first international camp with Jurgen and he mentioned he was keen to come over and watch him and that the Kilmarnock game would fit in. Hopefully he enjoys the game and I’m sure Oh will get the chance to impress.
“He was a big figure in the global game. He was an outstanding striker and he really made an impact wherever he played.
“He is one of those guys who played in most of the big leagues – Germany, Italy, England – and made a massive impact. He’s had some pretty big jobs as a manager as well so he’s one of the big figures in world football.”
Many would assume that the tutelage of one of Europe’s greatest-ever strikers would be a huge helping hand in a promising forward’s development but Postecoglou believes that it is the international arena itself that will have the most benefit.
The former Australia manager is well-placed to make such a judgement, although he accepts that having a figure like Klinsmann to lean on is no bad thing for Oh – or, indeed, Celtic.
“As opposed to playing under an ordinary left full-back on a weekly basis,” Postecoglou wryly replied.
“Look, international football in itself is great for players. I’ve worked at that level and it gives players a real different challenge to whatever league they play in.
“It can only help Oh’s development and with Jurgen also being a striker that’s going to be a benefit. But I think the biggest benefit is just playing international football because you get challenged playing against all different kinds of defenders in different formations. All that can only help a player’s development.”
Furuhashi, of course, can also offer his team-mate the odd pearl of wisdom. It wasn’t so long ago that the Japanese striker found himself moving halfway round the world and acclimatising to an entirely new way of life in Scotland, and Postecoglou believes Oh will become a better player simply by training and playing with the fans’ favourite.
“I think so,” Postecoglou added. “Obviously Kyogo is a bit more mature but he’s a player who has come from the other side of the world and I think it gives Oh great confidence to know that just because you come from a different culture or upbringing doesn’t mean you can’t make a big impact.
“I’m sure he’s learning off Kyogo in his own way, seeing how hard he works on a daily basis and how hard he works for his team. That will help him in his development as a footballer.
“The big guy has done really well since he joined us. He embraced the culture, the club, the league, everything. You can see how determined he is to be success. I think he’s going to be a very good footballer for us.”
Rugby Park awaits tomorrow and Postecoglou is under no illusions about the task facing his Celtic team in Ayrshire. With Derek McInnes’ side scrapping for their lives at the foot of the table and boasting an impressive home record, the Greek-Australian knows that the champions could well be in for a tricky encounter.
“Their home form is really strong and they are fighting for their Premiership status,” Postecoglou said. “When you get to this time of year everyone is fighting for something and it’s going to be a great challenge for us.
“But we have been really good all year on focusing on who our next opponent is and making sure we are ready for what’s in store for us. We know if we can play our football and bring our energy and intensity to the game that we can then we are hard to stop.”
