Kyogo Furuhashi

I was sure it was going to VAR to be ruled off

Pure delayed reaction

 

Same but Backpost Borna turned up with the goods again

 

Mental how often he * it against us man

 

He keeps going at this rate then he's gonna be at our POTY awards!

 

Aye I said it yesterday, if you’re going to have a poor game, that’s the way to do it.

 

Well it's all literally yesterday's chip wrapper now and we move on still the victors We will turn up at home when they come to visit and they will be left in no doubt to how rubbish they are.

 

Forrest put one on a plate for him that he swung and missed that would have put us 2 up.

 

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in *; believe also in Borna (John 14:1-3).

 

Glad he got his first (I think?) goal against the huns, hopefully a barrel load will follow later in the season

 

It's been a fine return to domestic action for Celtic since the resumption of the league campaign following the World Cup and for Kyogo Furuhashi, December was another impressive month for the striker.

A total of four goals in four Premiership games in December for the Japanese internationalist helped win the Hoops 12 points and his performances have now earned him cinch Premiership Player of the Month.

His impressive form in front of goal started with a strike in the 2-1 win over Livingston, before following it with two in a 4-1 win over St Johnstone and then a remarkable individual strike in the 4-0 win away to Hibernian.

While not in the same month, Kyogo of course continued his form in 2023, scoring the late equaliser in the Glasgow derby at Ibrox on Monday.

He and the rest of the squad will now be looking to continue their strong return following the World Cup break when the Celts host Kilmarnock at Celtic Park on Saturday.

 

Everything that Kyogo Furuhashi had to say in his pre-match press conference ahead of Celtic's Scottish Premiership fixture against Kilmarnock.

Congratulations on your award and how does it feel to be recognised?

I am really grateful to all my team-mates and the fans for their support in helping me to receive this great award so thank you to all of you.

Do you set yourself targets and if you do what are they for this season?

I want to score as many goals as possible and lead the team to win games and make my team and the fans happy.

You are in very good form at the moment but is there more to come from you and how far are you away from your best form?

I don't want to think about the future, I want to concentrate on the game in front of me and work hard in training for it so that I can show my best on the pitch. The most important thing is what is coming up soon.




How significant was it not to drop points at Ibrox and in terms of the title race do you feel that you are nearly there in terms of winning the title?

We're focused on the next game because we know the next game is important. I hope the fans will enjoy it.

Can you describe your emotions when you scored against Rangers as it was your first in that fixture. What was it like for you?

Every goal is very special to me. I want to do my job as a striker and score more goals and make the fans happy with the results.

The manager has added two more Japanese players in the transfer window, how exciting is that for you that those players are coming to the club and how important could they be in the second half of the season in the title race?

Well, I think they are looking forward to it and not only them but many other players are joining as well. No matter who plays in the game everyone is prepared for it and ready to play great football to win the match.




You have 15 league goals already and are top goalscorer in the Premiership. is winning the golden boot in the league something that you aspire to do?

In every game, my team-mates fight strongly on the ball and deliver me a great pass and all I have to do is push the ball into the net. I really appreciate them and I want to keep doing this by scoring more goals in the coming games for the team.

It was obviously a blow to miss out on the World Cup but you have scored five goals since you have come back. Did you use that time to push on and kick your game on and come back even stronger?

The Japanese national team did brilliantly and I was inspired by the good work they did. I think I have been able to turn that into my strength and work for the team so I want to continue to do a good job for the team.




Did seeing Daizen Maeda score and do so well in Qatar drive you on to be at the World Cup finals in four years' time?

I think the most important thing is right now, not in four years' time. I am focused on what I can do and what I need to do in this club now so I want to keep up the hard work and contribute to the team.

You scored a late goal at Ibrox and then ran to get the ball from the net and then ran back to the centre circle. It was such an important goal but you still felt that you wanted to win the match?

We play to win every game and we believe that winning makes our fan smile. I don't want to waste a second in that sense. Whatever the match, if that's the situation, I'll do it that way.




There are six Japanese players at Celtic now and you were the first to arrive so it must be an exciting time for you at the club is it not?

A lot of Japanese players have joined and there are many other good players as well. We all want to do the best job for this club and have a good result at the end

Have you ever been involved in a team that was nine points clear and lost? On the evidence of your team-mates can you see them giving up nine points to lose this league?

As I said before we will know what the result will be after the season finishes so I don't want to look ahead or into the future too much. There are plenty of other great teams out there but we want to play our football, look after ourselves, play great football and try to grab as many wins as possible.

What has pleased you about your performances this month and what areas do you need to improve?

I'm not satisfied. I still have to contribute to the team with more goals and assists. I want to help the team not only by scoring goals but also by working harder in defence. I think I need to improve that area more.

 

Dear me, his soldier-like attitude is giving me a stauner. A team full of players with his mentality will take names in Europe next season. Not happy with defensive work? Boy, if he improves on it, we'll have 2 Maedas.