Giorgos Giakoumakis is ‘delighted’ to now be starting to prove his critics wrong after hitting a rich vein of goals for Celtic over their recent fixtures, via quotes by the Glasgow Times.
Ange Postecoglou’s summer signing had struggled for form since moving to Parkhead from VVV-Venlo for £2.5m in August. He scored just three goals over his first 15 appearances for the Bhoys in all competitions. But the 27-year-old has since hit four in his last three games.
Giakoumakis stretched Celtic’s lead in their Scottish Cup win over Raith Rovers earlier this month. He then proved to be the Hoops’ hero on Sunday as the Glasgow natives won 3-2 at home to Dundee FC, with the Greece international firing home his maiden Bhoys hat-trick.
Giakoumakis’ haul also let Celtic stretch their lead atop the Premiership table with Dundee United holding Rangers to a draw. Postecoglou’s side now hold a three-point advantage to the Gers ahead of the Old Firm facing Hibernian and Motherwell respectively on Sunday.
Celtic will also hope to see Giakoumakis’ goal burst continue on Thursday when they visit Bodo/Glimt. The Bhoys trail the Norwegian outfit 3-1 on aggregate after losing the first-leg of their Europa Conference League knockout round play-off at Parkhead last Thursday.
Giakoumakis ‘delighted’ to prove his Celtic critics wrong
Giakoumakis went into Celtic’s meeting with Bodo/Glimt brimming with confidence after scoring against Raith Rovers. He failed to net in the UEFA encounter after featuring for 31-minutes as a second-half substitute. But bounced back to impress at home to Dundee FC.
Hitting a hat-trick delighted the six-cap international, as it also meant he could continue to prove his critics wrong. He only had two Premiership goals in 11 prior appearances before hosting the Dee, of which the forward had also only started six games between injuries.
“Of course, I’m delighted,” Giakoumakis said. “Everyone criticises a striker if he doesn’t score goals, so it’s something which makes me happy whenever I score. It’s something that makes me really happy.
“But for me, it’s not the only thing I have to do on the field, it’s a part of my performance. But whenever I score and have a good performance, then I feel my play is complete and it makes me even more happy.
“As I said before, everyone is criticising a striker for his lack of goals. Goals are the fuel for a striker. It makes me pleased with my game and is something I hope I can do in every single game in order to help the team.”
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