Kyogo, commitment and causing Celtic carnage - Tony Haggerty

"I briefly congratulated Daizen Maeda and immediately focused on the next game with Celtic. Either way, my motivation remains the same: I want to score as many goals as possible for my club and do my best so that our club wins games and as many titles as possible. The World Cup would have been an extension of my way with our club. That's why my ambition — whether with or without the national team — remains unchanged."

These are the words of Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi when he spoke to The Athletic before the footballing extravaganza and after he had been left out of the Japanese national team that headed to the World Cup finals in Qatar.

Note there was no 'woe is me' in Kyogo's sentiments. There was no negativity directed towards the Japanese national team or their head coach Hajime Moriyasu either.

What an attitude the Hoops striker possesses. One would conjecture that Celtic boss Ange Postecolglou will have read these words and punched the air in delight. No wonder.

Kyogo also went on to also say this: "Regardless of whether it’s in the first minute or in the 90th minute, we want to actively defend from the front, pressing on the opponent’s defensive line and attack the opposition player on the ball — like a pressing wave.

"During our attacking phase or at throw-ins, we don’t want to get into a resting mode — we stay in active mode, and if we keep our intensity high, it will be difficult for our opponent to stay focused for 90 minutes. In principle, our approach remains the same.

"I play as a centre forward, and the tasks that we all get from our manager are clear. Our attitude doesn’t change. I’ve only been dealing with this individual xG since I’ve been here. xG is a good number to see if we could create goal chances or not. At the same time, it will also be important for me to be more likely to score goals from little chances.

"For me, it is important to use every situation in the game from which to work on my finishing. I’m trying to read and understand the situation accurately, and am working on my technique in a training moment which is similar to the game. How should I move to finish even faster, for example? I keep working on such points.

!I watch videos on YouTube of how other players scored their goals, how they took the ball and solved the situation and so on. I also watch videos of my finishing to think about how I can play better.”

When have you ever heard a striker talk about his xG rates? It's unprecedented, unheard of really. It's also that attention to detail which could give Kyogo the small margins in Celtic's matches and will be music to Postecoglou's ears.

A business-as-usual type of striker, he never switches off. That much was suitably demonstrated when he scored with his chest at Pittodrie during a crucial 2-1 win over Aberdeen last October which helped get Celtic's title ambitions back on track. On that occasion, it was Kyogo's movement and speed of thought that saw him convert the chance with a lesser-used part of the anatomy in the Granite City.

He then played a vital part in bringing the first silverware of Postecoglou's reign to Paradise with a sublime double in the League Cup final a year ago this month. His two exquisite finishes that fateful day at Hampden that day came from a marksman supreme and displayed the kind of quick thinking and execution that epitomised the never-say-die attitude that Postecoglou has built into his Celtic playing staff.

Kyogo is, essentially, the prototype Postecoglou is looking for in a Hoops striker. He has already been an integral part of Celtic's fortunes under the manager.

The 27-year-old has notched 31 goals in 53 games and become a firm favourite with the Hoops faithful. He already has 11 goals and counting this season from 22 appearances in all competitions - although he did fail to bag a goal in the six Champions League group stage matches which was a poor return for such a talented player.

Ironically, prior to netting against Motherwell during a 4-0 League Cup win at Fir Park on October 19, the striker endured what for him could be considered a goal drought when he had scored once in eight outings (totalling 451 minutes).

This prompted Postecoglou to point out his faith in the attacker - and reinforce his belief that his attitude doesn't change just because the ball isn't finding the net.

"He is contributing," the manager said at the time of the Motherwell goal. "He’s causing problems for the opposition. I’m pleased for him to get the goal but it doesn’t change my assessment of how he’s been playing. He’s still been a contributor.

"You are trying to tell them they haven’t lost any of the ability they have and I’ve still been pleased with his general play. They go a couple of games without scoring and the world collapses in on them."

Kyogo's world did not collapse in on him when he failed to make the Japan World Cup squad. Far from it, he still has the club world at his feet after all.

The Japanese striker is still Scottish football's tormentor-in-chief - and that is great news for Postecoglou and his treble-chasing Celtic.

This piece is an extract from today’s Celtic Digest newsletter, which is emailed out every weekday evening with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from The Celtic Way team.

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