Ange Postecoglou has shot down any suggestions Scottish football is holding back some of his stars.
The Celtic boss admitted he feels for Hoops aces Kyogo and Reo Hatate missing out on being called up for Japan. But he doesn’t buy Samurai Blues boss Hajime Moriyasu’s veiled reasoning about the level of the Premiership. Postecoglou will have half his squad on international duty next week – and he is convinced it won’t be long before his key men are banging on the door.
When asked if he had concerns about Scottish football’s standing, he hit back: “No mate, you come here next week and there will be few players in the building because the rest of them will be on international duties. We have four or five at the World Cup and they were all outstanding. We have had players recently – Josip Juranovic and Moritz Jenz – who have gone to the Bundesliga and are regular starters.
“I don’t think it is relevant at all, and that is not to discount the opinion of the Japanese team manager, that is for him to decide how he selects players. From my perspective, the level of the individual performance in terms of national team selection has very little to do with the competition.
“Next week, we have multiple players away and the World Cup is a pretty good reference point, mate. I don’t think anyone would say that guys like Aaron Mooy and Cameron Carter-Vickers and Josip and Daizen and Alistair Johnston, guys who were part of ours, didn’t perform at the highest level. So if you want a reference point, that’s the one you should look at.”
Postecoglou reckons the Japan snub will only fire up his men even more. He said: “I don’t feel sorry for them, but you do feel for them. There is no greater disappointment for any footballer than missing a World Cup but if you see how they have reacted to that, it is fair to say that they have used it to take their game to another level, both Reo and Kyogo.
“It will keep being that way, they will keep pushing on. They are both top quality players with heaps of improvement in them. They’ll both reach the very top of the game and these things are just little tests along the way. For every footballer there are always different challenges for them, and this is it. But if you look at the way they have responded to missing out on the World Cup, if anything it motivates them to keep pushing on and being the best they can be.”
Postecoglou insisted he didn’t put the foot down over call ups for Greg Taylor and Carter-Vickers, with the pair missing out on Scotland and USA call-ups due to niggling injuries. Both will be involved against Hibs at Celtic Park today and the Hoops boss said: “In terms of the national team it is a pretty straightforward process.
“With every player we provide medical information and current status from the physical perspective. We do that for all national teams and then it is up to them to navigate that and make a decision on whether they call up the player or not.
“With Greg and Cam, they’ve got some small issues they are managing, but as we can see they are playing. It comes down to the decision by the international manager whether this window is one they want the boys in, or will be better served by using this window to get them back to full fitness.
“From our perspective we manage the players so that they are in good physical condition and both Greg and Cam are available, and will play. We can’t (put the foot down), FIFA law and international windows. We have a couple of players injured and national teams are entitled to call them up and have them assessed by their own doctors and I’m fine with that. It’s all good.
“We are in constant contact with international managers, we work together and they try to do what is the best interests of the players. Obviously these games, for the most part, are not friendly games and then the decision is up to the national team for the best course of action.”
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