Giorgos Giakoumakis branded Alloa ‘dangerous’ in their approach to Saturday’s night’s Scottish Cup that left three Celtic players sidelined and doubtful for Wednesday’s crucial league trip to Tynecastle.
Captain Callum McGregor will definitely miss the match and is unlikely to make the Old Firm clash at Parkhead next midweek after suffering a severe facial injury in an aerial collision with Alloa’s Adam King.
Liel Abada and Yosuke Ideguchi followed their skipper up the tunnel in the second half after sustaining ankle injuries, with the challenge on the Japanese midfielder by Mouhamed Niang particularly angering the Celtic players.
And afterwards Giakoumakis, who scored the opener in the 2-1 win that set up a last 16 clash at home to Raith Rovers, pulled no punches in his assessment of the manner in which League One strugglers went about their business.
The Greek striker said: “First of all I have to wish him (McGregor) the best of luck for a speedy recovery. He’s a leader for us. Maybe it’s something serious.
“We’ll miss him a lot, he’s a key player for us and I hope he will return as soon as possible.
“The game against Alloa was out of (over) the limit. It was too dangerous – the duels, the marking. We had to get through it and take the win and, if it was possible, to stay away from harm. We didn’t achieve that part.”
The former VVV-Venlo striker believes that Barry Ferguson’s men adopted a physical approach because they knew they couldn’t match Celtic’s ability.
He added: “I can say that the opponent didn’t have the quality that we do. That’s normal, with respect. They had to try to run more than us and be more aggressive in the duels.
“Sometimes they crossed the line and the marking was a little bit more tough. But we should take care of ourselves too.”
Asked if he believed his team didn’t get enough protection from the officials, the 27-year-old said: “I don’t want to speak about the referees. I will never speak about the referees.
“It’s our job in the lines (on the pitch) and in the end we’re really happy that we won and we’re in the next round.”
