Ange Potsecoglou has warned Celtic’s forgotten men they’ll be placed in cold storage if they fail to find a new club during this transfer window.
The Hoops boss believes the clock is ticking down for the likes of James McCarthy, Oliver Abildgaard and Yosuke Ideguchi ahead of the January signing deadline on Tuesday. Despite insisting no player will be forced out the door, Postecoglou offered a word of caution to the frozen out players that they risk long-term career damage if they remain and sit on the sidelines.
With Greek striker Georgios Giakoumakis set to leave the club in the next 48 hours, Celtic haven’t ruled out more business being done in both directions. But as Postecoglou prepared his side for this afternoon’s Premiership clash at Dundee United, he urged all players on his first team periphery to look at the bigger picture. He said: “For the guys who are not getting opportunities it really comes down to them and seeing what the best options are. I’m in dialogue with those guys. It’s not about forcing people out but there is a realism in terms of how much opportunity you get to play. If you mention those three guys they are at an age where the less football they play the fewer options they will have.
“They have to assess what’s best for their careers. As I said I’m in dialogue with them and we will see what happens in the last days of the window. If nothing happens then they are still part of our group and we will work with them accordingly. There are still five days to go and we are always alert. If anything comes up we will see what happens.”
Postecoglou may hand a debut for new signing Oh Hyeon-gyu from South Korean club Suwon Samsung Bluewings against a Dundee United side they hammered 9-0 last August but the Australian admits he’s desperate to get the striker involved in the action.
He said: “He is training with us. He has had three weeks of pre-season training in Korea but he hasn’t played since November. So we need to get some game time into him. I will see how he is. He has trained well but it has been a big week for him physically and emotionally with the move. I will assess when is the best time to bring him in. If it’s not the weekend it will definitely be midweek. I’m keen to get him involved.”
Postecoglou insists if Giorgos Giakoumakis doesn't exit the club in the next few days then it’ll be business as usual. He said: “There is still speculation around him. There’s nothing concrete but it’s fair to say there is still interest in him. As with all these things there has to be agreement among all parties.
“The player needs to want to go to the destination and we as a football club have to be satisfied that our demands are being met and the interested club need to be happy too. It takes a little bit of time but I am pretty relaxed about it. If it happens, it happens, if it doesn’t he stays part of our group moving forward.
“As he has in the past, I’m sure he will get opportunities to contribute. As we stand right now there are still a few days to go but with all the speculation around him it’s fair to say it’s uncertain.”
Cameron Carter-Vickers, Greg Taylor and Benjy Siegrist all come back into the Hoops squad for the trip to Tayside.
