Ange Postecoglou gives special praise to Celtic star

Celtic have not been at their blistering best and playing teams off the park in recent times. In fact, three of their last four wins have come thanks to goals scored beyond the 75th minute. Yet, one thing that Ange Postecoglou’s side have continued to do is rack up the points and that means that they now hold a 7-point advantage over the Rangers in the Premiership title race.

While Postecoglou would be hoping that his side rediscover their mojo soon, he cannot be unhappy with their results.

One player who has faced a lot of criticism this season is Daizen Maeda and to be honest, the Japanese star did make a slow start. He came up with a goal in the game against Motherwell though, which proved to be the difference on the night.

Postecoglou had reserved some special praise for the Celtic forward, for what he brings to the table. As reported by the Daily Record, the manager said:

"“He works so hard for the team. He’s surrounded by other attackers who are different to him. He doesn’t get the headlines. But the contribution he makes is immense. I left him out for the last couple of games to freshen him up. He was outstanding again.”"

Postecoglou reserves special praise for Celtic star after Motherwell game

According to stats from Transfermarkt, Maeda has scored 4 goals and provided 4 assists in 21 appearances this season.

Now those might not be the most impressive of numbers and at one point of time, his performances had most certainly dipped. But he is making a solid contribution at the moment.

It is not just his contributions in front of goal that is important but also the immense work rate that he brings off the ball, which makes this high intensity style of football that Postecoglou likes his side to play possible. A lot of what Maeda does gets lost and he does not grab a lot of headlines. But he is very important to this team without a shadow of a doubt. Let’s just hope that he continues to get better as the season progresses.