This season, we have virtually seen a whole new squad introduced under Ange Postecoglou, who signed 12 players in last summers transfer window.
Given the size of the rebuild the club faced, it came as no surprise to supporters to see the number of new faces we did.
However, some familiar faces remain within the squad who have found themselves on the fringes so far under Ange and would have been hoping the fresh start would have been better this season.
The likes of Albian Ajeti and Ismaila Soro, to name just a few, have not been involved in a matchday squad for several weeks now due to more of Ange’s first-team squad getting up to speed.
The 56-year old doesn’t believe that is the end of the opportunities for fringe players, though, as he refused to role out the chance to see players such as Ajeti involved again if they show effort and commitment in training.
“No one needs to convince me,” he said, as quoted by the Daily Record.
“How they present themselves every day is all I need. Whilst everyone sees the end product on a game day, what we do in training is vital to our football and that only happens if everyone is contributing in training, the ones who are playing and the ones who aren’t.
“They’re still representatives of this football club, and they’re still contributing to what we are doing.
“Everyone wants to play, and people are disappointed when they don’t, but ultimately you have an obligation and a responsibility to come here every day and be the best you can be.
“All the guys in the squad at the moment are doing that. There’s no one who I feel isn’t putting in or showing signs of disenchantment from the point of view of not wanting to contribute.
“At the same time, if there ever comes a point where people feel this is not the place for them, then I’m happy to have that conversation, and we will do what’s best for this football club.”
The squad we are currently building with Postecoglou at the helm have been very impressive in recent weeks.
There seems to be a real togetherness within the group, on and off the park, with what we have seen from them.
It is always good to have healthy competition, though, which can get the best out of players. So, it is good to see Ange not totally ruling out the possibility of fringe players playing their part in his side.
Ultimately, it is down to them to decide whether they want to have a future with the club. If not, their time can come to an end either this coming January window or next summer.
