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Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has revealed he is already sounding out targets to bring to Parkhead in the January transfer window.

What’s been said?

In recent comments cited by the Daily Record, the 56-year-old manager claimed that he is already targeting a number of players in the Japanese market ahead of the winter window, following the success of summer signing Kyogo Furuhashi.

However, the Bhoys boss went on to claim that it’s not just the J-League he will be tapping up for new additions to his squad, as well as suggesting that the club have started talks with a number of targets in an effort to complete deals more efficiently in the window.

Speaking about his plans for January, Postecoglou said: “It’s no secret we still need to add to the squad. We were never going to do it in one transfer window, especially when you look at the significant exits we had.

“It was always going to be a two or three window process so we’re looking at January at the moment. We know the areas we need to bolster. It’s about getting more players that I believe can play the type of football we want to play. That’s what we’re trying to target. We will definitely be adding something to the squad.

“Japan is one of the markets we’ll be looking at. Obviously, I know it really well and they will get to the end of their season, which is a good time if there’s anyone who will fit into our set-up. We will be looking everywhere. The last window was frantic. This time we want to be planning well in advance.

“We’ve identified targets and begun discussions before we get to January so that we can conclude deals a lot quicker than we did in the previous window.”

Fans will be buzzing

While Celtic’s win at Aberdeen on Sunday saw the Bhoys end their unwanted record of having failed to secure a win away from Parkhead this season, the club’s results so far in the current campaign are clear evidence that Postecoglou needs further reinforcements in order to progress the Hoops’ transition under the Greek-Australian manager.

Indeed, at present, Celtic find themselves languishing down in sixth place in the Scottish Premiership table, having already suffered three defeats in the league.

The picture does not look much better in Europe, with the Bhoys having conceded eight goals and recorded two losses over their two Europa League fixtures this term – leaving the club rooted to the foot of the Group G standings, and looking highly unlikely to make it to the knockout stages of the competition.

As such, the news that Postecoglou and Celtic have already begun their planning for the January transfer window is sure to have fans buzzing, as it is clear that following a number of high profile departures this summer, the current Celtic squad is some way short of being at the standard required.

In other news: Forget Bitton: £16k-p/w Celtic “problem” who made just 1 pass failed Ange vs Aberdeen

Football Insider and talkSPORT pundit, Gabby Agbonlahor, has been reacting to news on Celtic midfielder James McCarthy.

The Lowdown: Devlin’s claim

Devlin, Celtic’s correspondent for The Athletic, shared news from a dressing room source regarding summer signing Giorgos Giakoumakis.

Prior to the Hoops’ 1-0 defeat to Livingston, Devlin claimed that Giakoumakis is ‘quite far off it in training’.

Devlin then shared another dressing room source claim less than 24 hours later, revealing McCarthy has struggled in training with the pace and intensity of Ange Postecoglou’s sessions.

The Celtic boss nor the club’s scouts had meaningful input into signing McCarthy, who failed to shine on his first start in green and white.

The Latest: Agbonlahor reacts

Agbonlahor was talking to Football Insider regarding Devlin’s claim on McCarthy.

He didn’t hold back on the midfielder, labelling the 30-year-old as ‘average’.

“He’s an average player, to be honest. I played against him a few times while he was at Wigan and he’s an average player. He does some things well but Celtic for me have got better midfielders.

“Maybe he’s one that comes out the team and is then in and out of the side.

“It’s worrying times for Celtic.”

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The Verdict: Next few months crucial

There has been speculation that the Irishman has suffered from Covid, so that could explain his struggles at Lennoxtown, particularly in terms of cardiovascular fitness.

Hopefully, we will see the midfielder improving prior to the New Year as he gets back to full health and match sharpness.

However, with Postecoglou not contributing to McCarthy’s transfer, if he continues to struggle, it might mean he falls down the Parkhead pecking order relatively quickly if things don’t improve.

In other news: Celtic now working on ‘top’ transfer without McKay; 48 y/o says he ‘would shine’ in Glasgow. 

Matabeleland Tuskers beat Masvingo outfit Southern Rocks by an innings and 87 runs at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo

Cricinfo staff07-Jan-2010Matabeleland Tuskers beat Masvingo outfit Southern Rocks by an innings and 87 runs at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, in their first Logan Cup match of 2010.Gavin Ewing, the Tuskers’ new captain, won the toss and elected to field and a poor batting effort from the Rocks led to them collapsing for 149 in 56.5 overs. Alester Maregwede top scored for the visitors with 42. Captain Steve Tikolo made 33 while fellow countryman Thomas Odoyo and opener Tendai Marichi contributed 21 and 10 respectively.Fast bowler Christopher Mpofu performed for Tuskers, claiming 3 for 31 in 14 overs while Keegan Meth took 3 for 14. Debutant Gerald Aliseni made an impression by taking 2 for 29 while star spinner John Nyumbu and Tawanda Mupariwa claimed one each.Charles Coventry batted superbly in Tuskers’ first innings, proving during his unbeaten 100 why he is among the best in Zimbabwe. Other Tuskers batsmen who impressed were Gregory Strydom (87), Dion Ebrahim (82), Ewing (71), and Sean Williams (71) as Tuskers piled up 456 for 5 before the declaration.Rocks started their second innings on the third day and were dismissed for 220 when they needed 307 to make Tuskers bat again. There was a notable performance from Tendai Machiri, who scored 79, and Tikolo contributed 61. Rocks missed the services of batsman Eric Chauluka who was injured while fielding in the Tuskers innings.Zimbabwe A spinner Nyumbu continued his good form from the first half of the season, claiming 4 for 29, while Mpofu took 2 for 50. Meth, Mupariwa and Strydom claimed onewicket each.Tuskers coach Robin Brown was happy with the performance of his team.”We had a good start and I only hope that this is the beginning of good things to come this half of the season,” he said.

A round-up of the opening day of the 11th round matches of the Regional Four Day Competition

Cricinfo staff22-Mar-2009It was an action-packed, frenetic day at Crab Hill as Leeward Islands slammed 410 for 8 in their 90 overs against Barbados. The honours belonged to Runako Morton, who braved a groin injury after lunch to end the day unbeaten on 192. He occupied the crease for almost the entire duration, walking in with the fall of Kieran Powell in the first over. They lost Montcin Hodge in the fifth before Morton and Codville Rogers went on the attack, finishing on 126 for 3 at lunch. Morton then added 90 for the fourth wicket with Tonito Willett and 64 with captain Steve Libburd before tea. He batted with a runner after lunch and reached three figures with a straight six off Kevin Stoute. It was his second hundred of the season and 12th in his first-class career. He shared two 40-plus stand with the lower order and ended the day with an unbeaten stand of 50 for the ninth wicket with Gavin Tonge. Morton’s unbeaten 192 came off 273 balls with 28 fours and two sixes.”I know the Bajans like to play competitive cricket and I love a challenge so I guess that’s why I probably have done so well against them,” Morton said. “Right now, I am just looking to enjoy my cricket and do my best for the Leewards. I will just continue to perform, and leave it to the selectors to decide.”Jason Mohammed stroked a solid half century to strengthen Trinidad and Tobago(T&T) against the Windward Islands at the Arnos Vale Ground. He scored a fluent 80 as T&T closed on 238 for 5 after being put into bat. Mohammed, playing his first match of the current first-class season, was involved in two half-century partnerships, including a 79-run fifth-wicket stand with Sherwin Ganga, who remained unbeaten on 34 at the close of play. T&T got a promising start from their openers Adrian Barath and Imran Khan, who posted a 52-run stand but Deighton Butler dismissed both batsmen in quick succession. Darren Bravo fell shortly before lunch, caught at slip off Shane Shillingford for 17. T&T were steady though, in the post-lunch session and captain Daren Ganga added 89 with Mohammed in a fourth-wicket stand that ended shortly before tea. Mohammed seemed on course to securing his second first-class hundred, but was trapped leg before by Johnson Charles, after hitting eight fours and a six during his innings.Jamaica took control on the opening day at Sabina Park, bundling out Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) for 171 before ending the day at 78 for no loss. Pacers Andrew Richardson and David Bernard and legspinner Gavin Wallace took three wickets apiece to sink CCC after they had opted to bat first. Richardson and Bernard did the early damages, claiming four wickets for five runs to leave CCC in the doldrums at 27 for 5. Nekoli Parris and Chadwick Walton resisted with a stand of 94, with Parris contributing 53. Walton fell two short of his half-century when he was run-out by Richardson and the lower order couldn’t put up the same resistance. Wallace had the best figures among the three, finishing with 3 for 19 in 12 overs. The Jamaican openers, Brenton Parchment and Donovan Pagon batted out 25 overs and ensured no loss of wickets.

Sourav Ganguly will play for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy one-dayers which begin on February 15. Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, confirmed that Ganguly had agreed to play for his state side

Cricinfo staff04-Feb-2009Sourav Ganguly will play for Bengal in the Ranji one-dayers which begin on February 15, Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), confirmed.An official from the CAB confirmed that Ganguly has agreed to play all the matches, except one against Tripura on February 19. Bengal’s first game is against Jharkhand in Kolkata on February 15. The squad, as well as the captain, will be named on February 11.This tournament could serve as a warm-up for Ganguly, who is scheduled to play the Indian Premier League in April. Earlier in the season he helped Bengal earn a promotion to the Ranji Super League. He last played competitive cricket in December during the four-day Ranji Trophy. Ganguly retired from international cricket in November after India’s home series against Australia.Probables: Sourav Ganguly, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Manoj Tiwary, Anustup Majumder, Wriddhiman Saha, Ranadeb Bose, Iresh Saxena, Ashok Dinda, Sourav Sarkar, Avik Chowdhury, Shreevats Goswami, Arindam Ghosh, Avishek Banerjee, Dibyendu Chakraborty, Ritam Kundu, Amit Das, Mohammad Ashrafuddin, Nilakantha Das, Soham Ghosh, Mohammad Azaz Ansari, Sayan Sekhar Mondal, Arijit Banerjee, Debashish Banerjee, Sahabaz Nadeem

Australian fast bowler Stuart Clark has been left out of the New South Wales squad for the Sheffield Shield clash against Western Australia at the SCG on Thursday to nurse his injured elbow

Cricinfo staff03-Mar-2009Australian fast bowler Stuart Clark has been left out of the New South Wales squad for the Sheffield Shield clash against Western Australia at the SCG on Thursday to nurse his injured elbow. Cricket Australia had in fact, instructed the NSW selectors to rest him for the sake of being fit for forthcoming national assignments.”He (Clark) told me he wanted to play and wanted to play last weekend against Queensland but (national team physiotherapist) Alex Kountouris and his medical team had said no,” NSW chairman of selectors Brian Taber told .The Blues made three changes to from the previous game, bringing in Nathan Bracken, Ed Cowan and Steven Smith for Peter Forrest, Grant Lambert and Moises Henriques. However, batsman David Warner was once again omitted and will have to wait longer for his first-class debut.”We hope he will play in all forms in the not too distant future,” Taber said. He explained that it he was omitted in favour of Usman Khawaja who impressed in the Blues’ previous game.Squad: Dominic Thornely (capt), Nathan Bracken, Beau Casson, Ed Cowan, Burt Cockley, Phil Jaques, Usman Khawaja, Greg Mail, Ben Rohrer, Daniel Smith, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc.

A round-up of the second day of the eighth-round matches of the regional four-day competition

Cricinfo staff01-Mar-2009Windward Islands fought back well on the second day against Guyana at the Providence Stadium, after being bowled out for 215 on the first, as fast bowlers Deighton Butler and Nelon Pascal took four wickets each to limit the opposition to 280, and keep their lead down to 65. For Guyana, Leon Johnson starred with 73, and was involved in fruitful partnerships with nightwatchman Davendra Bishoo, Narsingh Deonarine and captain Travis Dowlin, who all chipped in with useful contributions. Guyana were well placed at 251 for 4, but a six-wicket burst from Butler and Pascal after tea severely weakened their advantage as they lost 6 for 29. In their second innings, Windwards reached 75 for 1 by stumps but opener Keddy Lasporis, who scored 27 off just 31 balls, was struck in the groin by fast bowler Trevon Garraway to be retired hurt.The contest in Kingston followed a similar script as Jamaica squandered a solid foundation provided by an 85-run second-wicket stand between opener Brenton Parchment and Donovan Pagon to be bowled out for 220 – just one short of the Leeward Islands score. Wilden Cornwall, the medium-pacer, took 5 for 37, and was well supported by fast bowlers Gavin Tonge and Tonito Willet, who took two wickets each, as Jamaica lost seven wickets for 76 runs after being in a good position to gain a sizeable lead. However, the match remained evenly poised at the close as Wavell Hinds and David Bernard took a wicket each to leave Leewards in a spot of bother at 53 for 2.Trinidad and Tobago dominated proceedings against Barbados at Point-a-Pierre as fast bowler Ravi Rampaul took 3 for 31 to limit the opposition to 111 for 5, still 394 adrift of a mammoth score of 505. Kieron Pollard, who was unbeaten on 110 overnight, and lower-order batsman Imran Khan were the stars for T&T as they put the game out of Barbados’ reach after a couple of early strikes. Sherwin Ganga and Gibran Mohammed were both dismissed by legspinner Nikolai Charles, but Pollard and Imran, who made 71, then added 118 for the eighth wicket to take their team to a daunting score. In their reply, Barbados faltered early, losing opener Jason Parris for a duck. Though captain Jason Haynes and Kirk Edwards added 60 to help them recover, Rampaul and left-arm spinner Magnum Nanan took the next four wickets for just 43 to leave Barbados staring at the possibility of conceding a massive first-innings lead.

The ICC has cast doubt on the viability of Pakistan as a venue for international cricket by announcing it will conduct an independent security assessment of the country before appointing officials for Sri Lanka’s tour next month

Cricinfo staff22-Dec-2008
The ICC has stepped in to do the groundwork before Sri Lanka go ahead with the tour © AFP
The ICC has cast doubt on the viability of Pakistan as a venue for international cricket by announcing it will conduct an independent security assessment of the country before appointing officials for Sri Lanka’s tour next month.Sri Lanka had agreed to tour after India called off their scheduled tour to the country on Thursday, following a directive from the government in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks. David Morgan, the ICC president, told the Indian news channel CNN-IBN that India’s decision was “an acceptable non-compliance” in keeping with the organisation’s rules.”We will do an independent assessment of the situation in Pakistan to ensure the safety of the umpires and match referee,” Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said in Mohali during the second Test between India and England. “I am convinced the Sri Lankan board will also do everything to ascertain whether it is safe to play in Pakistan and also seek assurances from the Pakistan Cricket Board.”In a statement, the ICC said that safety issues for officials and spectators were as important as those for the players. “The issue is that safety and security is not simply a matter for players; it’s also a matter for everyone else – broadcasters, journalists and match officials too, as well as spectators. From the ICC’s perspective, what would be required is that the match officials are afforded the same level of security as any or everyone else involved in the series.”The statement also raised the issue of umpires being willing to tour. “Just like with players, officials have choices about whether or not they wish to attend a tour and are also likely to be guided by the views of their own governments. [However] the ICC has a significant number of officials and would certainly expect to be able to identify enough of them to stand in the tour.”The PCB has drawn up a temporary itinerary which includes three Tests and five one-dayers and is awaiting an approval from Sri Lanka Cricket before releasing it. Sri Lanka are expected to head to Pakistan after their tour of Bangladesh ends on January 14. Pakistan have been denied the chance to host several high-profile teams this year owing to security fears. Australia pulled out of their Test tour this March and the ICC Champions Trophy was postponed to September 2009 for the same reasons.Asked about the difference between the security situation in India following last month’s Mumbai attacks and that in Pakistan, Morgan said: “They are two different countries. I’m not a security expert. The feedback that I have is that the security position in the two countries is significantly different.”Lorgat, however, said a final decision on Pakistan’s hosting rights of the Champions Trophy will be taken at the ICC’s Executive Board meeting in January.”We would like to see cricket on Pakistan soil,” he said. “But again that depends on the safety and security that prevails in the area. India’s tour of Pakistan could have provided us huge inputs for the Champions Trophy, but now that it has been cancelled, Sri Lanka’s tour might provide us that input.”

Shoaib Akhtar has been ruled out of the first one-dayer against West Indies in Abu Dhabi due to a calf injury

Cricinfo staff12-Nov-2008
Yet another injury for Shoaib © AFP
Shoaib Akhtar has been ruled out of the first one-dayer against West Indies in Abu Dhabi due to a calf injury.”He pulled his left calf muscle during yesterday’s training session and will be rested for today’s match,” Pakistan Cricket Board’s media manager Raza Rashid said.Yawar Saeed, the team’s manager, maintained that it wasn’t a serious blow and there was still hope that Shoaib could take part at some point in the series. “We are not treating it as an injury, it’s just a calf muscle pull and we will reassess his injury on Wednesday and then on Thursday before deciding when he can take the field,” Saeed told AFP.”Coach Intikhab Alam is clear that only a 100 percent Akhtar will play because we have an important series against India in two months time and we will not risk any further injury for Akhtar,” said Saeed.Shoaib last played an ODI a year ago in Gwalior on the tour of India. He was selected for the three-match ODI series in Abu Dhabi after impressing in the domestic Pentangular Cup, picking up nine wickets in two games for Federal Areas.On Tuesday, West Indies captain Chris Gayle had talked up Shoaib as Pakistan’s main threat. “He is always the key factor,” he said. “He is a wicket-taking bowler in a strong Pakistan pace attack.”Despite the absence of Shoaib, Pakistan will not be short of fast bowling options. The other quick bowlers in the squad are Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Iftikhar Anjum and Abdur Rauf.

Grant Bradburn, the former Test offspinner, has been picked to replace Andy Moles as the Northern Districts coach for the rest of the season

Cricinfo staff28-Nov-2008Grant Bradburn, the former New Zealand offspinner, will replace Andy Moles as the Northern Districts coach for the rest of the season, after Moles was appointed as the New Zealand coach last week.Bradburn will be assisted by former first-class player Craig Ross, who was his colleague at Northern Districts Cricket high performance centre.Bradburn will take on the responsibilities of his new role starting Saturday. He coached the Northern Districts A team for four years while Ross worked with the state’s Academy for two years and also coached at the age-group level.David Cooper, Northern Districts Cricket’s chief executive, said Bradburn and Ross were familiar with the team environment and the set-up. “They have enthusiastically taken up the challenge presented despite this being a significant change in their life, conjured up in four days,” Cooper was quoted as saying by .