During Celtic’s 3-3 draw with Rapid Vienna at the weekend, two players which stood out where David Turnbull and Kyogo Furuhashi with the former Motherwell midfielder heaping praise on his Celtic teammate.
Both of these players played an integral role during the first part of the season under Ange Postecoglou with it being easy to forget due to the volume of games which came after the break in January.
Turnbull experienced some real lows during his first season at the club as the Hoops relinquished their league title but the turnaround under Postecoglou has been terrific with one of the best signings being Japanese forward Kyogo.
Last season the manager placed a huge emphasis on the players behind the forwards that gave the attacking ones a platform to work their magic with Turnbull admitting that Kyogo is the perfect player to having playing in front of you.
“I played with him all of last season and I love playing alongside him,” said David Turnbull speaking to [Football Scotland].
“We had a good partnership then and against Rapid we linked up for two of the goals. He’s a joy to play with.
“It’s great to know that he will make the runs in behind and he can find me as well. I think just his movement and his runs and behind are brilliant.
“Sometimes he’s even one step ahead I feel, and you can’t get the ball through to him. If you play it early though he’s always onside and ready to be there.”
The 23-year old midfielder likes a goal himself and will be hoping to avoid injury during the next campaign with there being a lot of competition in the midfield areas but he was given the chance to impress at the weekend.
“Yeah, I just try to contribute to the team, and if that’s scoring or creating goals or whatever, it’s just about doing my best for the team and if they come along then I’m happy with that. If you look back, I think a few of my goals have been like that as well. I try to score all types of goals and whatever way they come I’m happy with them.
“You’ll always be disappointed losing a goal with the very last touch of the game, so that was a kick in the teeth, but we’re obviously satisfied to get 45 minutes in our legs, up against a good team.
“They moved the ball well and it was a good test for us.
“Yeah, we’re feeling good. It’s been a good pre-season camp over here. The facilities are great and we’ve been working hard every day.
“We obviously had the first game the other night and then Rapid, and both have gone well, so we’re looking forward to the games coming up.”
The Scottish Champions return to pre-season action tomorrow evening with a visit to the Czech Republic to take on Banik Ostrava to celebrate the clubs centenary with a large crowd and good atmosphere expected.
