Ange Postecoglou insists Celtic’s new Japanese heroes and returning stars will ensure the team copes without crocked Kyogo Furuhashi.
The Parkhead boss was thrilled after his troops made light of the absence of their talismanic top scorer to dismiss Hibs.
Attacker Daizen Maeda bagged a goal within four minutes of his debut, while compatriot Reo Hatate produced a Man of the Match show in midfield.
With Jota, James Forrest, Giorgos Giakoumakis back from injury and Yosuke Ideguchi also getting a debut, there were no hassles without Kyogo.
Postecoglou says he now has the squad depth to cope with key absentees as he said: “Don’t get me wrong, I would much rather that Kyogo was available and playing.
“He has been outstanding, he has been a star, but the whole idea going into the January window was we needed a stronger squad.
“I thought at the back end of the first half of the season we did really well, but we were running on fumes.
“We got ourselves through that, but we couldn’t do that again.
“Hopefully getting the new guys in and also getting guys back from injury will enable us now to rotate the squad and that is going to be important to us.”
Asked how long Kyogo would be missing with key games coming up quickly including Rangers on February 2, the manager added: “We’ll see. He obviously hasn’t recovered as well as we would have liked.
“We are just waiting on some firmer advice. Suffice to say, it is something that is going to keep him out for weeks. I don’t know how many weeks.
“We were hoping he would return quicker, but we will probably know better later in the week.
"He’s not likely to feature in the next couple of weeks at least, it could be longer.”
Maeda filled the void instantly with his goal which was backed-up by a Josip Juranovic penalty.
Postecoglou was chuffed for his new hitman and also the outstanding Hatate.
He said: “I’m sure he [Maeda] is pleased, he’s a striker, he’s a goalscorer.
“When you get to know him [Hatate], he is a very, very determined young man. He shows signs of reaching the very top of the game.
“He will come off the pitch knowing he did okay and performed at a level, but he will want more.
“That’s the kind of character and personality he is.
“He doesn’t just want to enjoy the ride, he has some sights and ambition to be the best player he can be and reach the top.
“You saw some of his quality, but there is definitely more to come. From all the boys. It was a good start to their Celtic careers.
“I thought it was a good game to just expose the lads and Yosuke later on to what it’s like to play for this football club.
“Especially at home against a good opponent, you have got to be ready for it, you have got to be up for it. I thought all three acquitted themselves well.”
The returns of Giakoumakis, Jota and Forrest were also a big boost and Postecoglou added: “They are guys I am looking forward to a strong second half of the season and we are going to need them.
“So we gave them some gametime and they will all get some significant game time with the games coming up. We gave them a base to tackle what we need to.
“Obviously the games come thick and fast now and we are going to need a squad to tackle that. It was good that we got all three new players on.”
