GIORGOS Giakoumakis is not shy.

Back in January and after an inauspicious start to life at Celtic he bullish declared himself to be “the one” for the central striking role at the club. More notable, perhaps, was his confidence recently over the club’s title ambitions following a perfect hat-trick against Dundee. 

If his words had the club’s PR representative squirming, it was no real surprise to Ange Postecoglou that he has a striker with something to say. 

“Not many of these number nines aren’t! [confident],” said the Greek-Australian. “I’ve met a few and they tend to have a bit about themselves. When you want to be a striker you understand what comes along with it. You are not going to be anonymous if you are scoring goals so I think he is confident. 

“At the same time he is humble enough to know he still has a way to go and he still has to work hard to improve his football and improve himself. I think it’s more that he has a belief in himself rather than being over-confident in his own ability.” 

The reality is that he has talked the loudest on the park. A Boxing Day injury to the talismanic Kyogo Furuhashi was feared by the Celtic support to derail their quest of catching a Rangers side who were six points ahead of them at that stage. The remit then seemed simply to hang onto the Ibrox side’s coattails while the Japanese forward’s hamstrings healed sufficiently as to slot back into the side.  

If suggestions are to be believed, Furuhashi looks to be on course for a return for the title run-in which creates a significant dilemma for Postecoglou. In his absence Celtic have manoeuvred themselves into the leading spot in the table while Giakoumakis has suddenly endeared himself by netting 11 of his 12 goals this term. 

The pair are a study in contrasts; Furuhashi energises Celtic, invigorating with movement, intelligence and craft. Giakoumakis can look ungainly and inelegant, yet he has shown a lethal touch in the six-yard box where his aggression and anticipation have brought 11 one-touch finishes.

Postecoglou, across various coaching roles, has never deployed a two-man forward line which should make for an intriguing decision when he has a fully fit squad available. 

“The whole idea was to try and build a squad that was going to be robust and flexible to tackle the different challenges that we have,” said Postecoglou.  “We will end up playing close to 60 games this year in four different competitions. I knew that we needed depth and different types of players. 

“Kyogo and Giako are different kinds of strikers but they also have characteristics that we need. They are both hard workers and they work hard defensively, and are good finishers in the box. For us in the run-in, once we have Kyogo fit and ready to go, when we have that depth it’s going to help.” 

Giakoumakis’ form resulted in a recall to the Greek national side with Postecoglou delighted to see the striker’s domestic form rewarded. His only real concern is that he returns fully fit for the game at Ibrox this weekend. 

“Giako had a really tough start to his Celtic career, a really tough first half of the season,” said the Celtic manager.  “He came in really late, missed pre-season and had a couple of injury setbacks. So he never really got going but since the break he has obviously got himself fit and ready. 

“He has been doing well for us and I think going away with the Greek national team will help give him further confidence and belief in the way he is going about things. 

"Like all the international players I think it will also do him good to get away from that constant club environment. Just to start thinking about different things for a couple of weeks. Hopefully that freshens them up and gets them ready for that final push with us. 

“When he missed the penalty against Livingston that wasn’t a great way to start his Celtic career. What was important was how he reacted to that  because that pressure was never going to change. That’s the expectation when you are a striker at this club and you have to embrace that responsibility. Giako wanted that and that’s why he is getting the rewards now.” 

And if Postecoglou is correct, there is significantly more to come from the 27-year-old.

“Hopefully his best years are well ahead of him, not just in the next couple,” said the Celtic manager.  "Giorgios had a great season in Holland last year and that brought him to the attention of a lot of clubs, not just us. 

“From our perspective, when I looked at him, the type of player he was and then spoke to him realised the type of person he was, I thought he would be a good fit for us. 

"It has worked out well for him. He had a disrupted time in the first few years of his professional career. He had a disrupted time in the first few years of his professional career. Sometimes when that happens it just means that they blossom a bit later and hit their peak a bit later. Hopefully his best years are well ahead of him, not just in the next couple."