Unlikely hero may have saved Celtic’s season
Idah is relishing the heat of title battle after keeping Scottish champions’ hopes alive
WHILE the final script for Celtic’s season has evidently still to be written, the narrative surrounding one of its central characters has already deviated from the expected plot.
The second and final signing of the last window, Adam Idah was an unfortunate victim of circumstance.
Arriving in Glasgow in the final few hours of January, the assumption was that he’d been foisted upon Brendan Rodgers against his will. Revealing he’d been a long-time admirer of the player, the manager quickly debunked that myth.
Frustrated by a lack of transfer activity, many supporters took one look at the Corkman’s modest goalscoring record in England and wrote him off. One month on, those assessments are now being revisited.
Whatever criticisms can be levelled at Celtic for failing to adequately strengthen their squad while sitting on £67.3million, the acquisition of Idah cannot be one of them. Powerful, fast, skilful and evidently blessed with an ice-cool temperament, the 23-year-old has already defied those modest expectations.
Five games into his Celtic adventure, he’s proving himself to be the most unlikely of heroes.
Having impressed on his debut from the bench at Pittodrie, Idah’s adroitness from 12 yards on two occasions at Easter Road was worth three points of a difference.
At Fir Park on Sunday, a header in the second half squared the game and turned it in the visitors’ favour. Coming in the 94th minute, his calm close-range conversion of Alistair Johnston’s cross changed the entire story of another match and perhaps even the entire season.
The man many felt was unworthy of wearing the famous shirt is fast becoming indispensable. Without him, Rodgers’ hopes of retaining the title would already be just about over.
‘I think I thrive off pressure,’ said the 22-times capped Ireland international. ‘That’s what excites me. For a lot of players, that’s what you play football for.
‘That pressure gives you that bit of motivation. I know, for me, that’s when I play my best.’
The case of Idah illustrates the folly in judging any player purely on statistics.
Two seasons ago, Idah managed a total of one goal for the Canaries. Last year, he hit just three. Prior to moving to Glasgow, he’d managed to net just eight times since August.
When a disaffected fanbase is presented with those kinds of numbers, there’s an inclination to see what they want to see.
Rodgers, though, always looked beyond the spreadsheets which suggested Idah was, at best, second rate.
Believing the forward had the full package, without having yet realised his full potential, this was precisely the kind of challenge he’d relished through his coaching career.
The diverse nature of Idah’s goals on Sunday suggested that the Celtic boss is already getting more out of the striker than any of his previous managers.
‘It’s obviously very pleasing,’ said the player. ‘The two penalties were great, but you do want to score from open play.
‘To do that on Sunday and the way it went was unbelievable for me and my confidence as a striker.
‘My job is getting goals, so I was delighted. That’s what I’ve come here to try to do.
‘I want to score as many goals as I can and help the team.
‘The team is helping me by putting balls in the box and making me the reference point.
Overall, we are working well with each other.’
The prospect of Idah being in the team ahead of Kyogo Furuhashi a few short weeks ago would have seemed nothing short of preposterous.
Even though the Japanese has struggled to replicate the form that saw him hit 34 goals last season, his status as the side’s talisman was undiminished.
Such was the difference in Celtic at Fir Park once Rodgers swapped Furuhashi for Idah at the break that the question on fans’ lips is not now how the manager gets the best out of the Japanese. It’s how he gets back into his side.
‘Look, regardless of if I start or come off the bench, I’m going to do my best,’ Idah insisted.
‘I’ve started three games now and come on in others.
‘It’s about getting games and helping the team.
‘That’s what I did on Sunday. It doesn’t matter to me if I start or not. I just want to perform each and every week and, hopefully, score as many goals as I can.’
Moments after the final whistle, Rodgers revealed that writing a different ending to the season from the one he believes many observers already have in mind is a prime motivation for all connected with the club.
Still just two points behind Rangers with 11 games to play, he may yet be proven right. To stand any chance of having the last laugh, though, his players are going to have to demonstrate an ability to perform for more than 45 minutes.
Devoid of pretty much everything the manager would have wanted, the first half at Fir Park was desperately poor and hardly a rarity in recent times.
‘Look, we didn’t perform as well as we wanted in the first half,’ added Idah.
‘At half-time, the manager just told us to stick to the game plan, to keep being confident.
‘We all have belief we can do it, so there’s no need to be under pressure.
‘To be fair to the boys, we did that in the second half. We probably didn’t keep the ball the way we would have wanted before then. We didn’t create much.
‘But the difference in the second half was massive. It was just about staying positive and staying on top of the plan with that never-say-die attitude.’
With Johnston starting at right-back again, Cameron Carter-Vickers returning from the bench and Japanese midfielder Reo Hatate now closing in on a return, the manager’s options are steadily improving.
The spirit that dragged them towards another dramatic win in Motherwell — and that might yet prove pivotal — has always been there.
‘I’m aware of Celtic and late goals,’ said Idah.
‘We actually watched the clips before the game of Matty O’Riley scoring at Motherwell in the 96th minute.
‘But it’s just that attitude of never giving up. I could see it as soon as I came in. Everyone is so hard working in training, so professional.
‘You see it in the games. They never give up. Everyone is willing to put in that extra per cent to get results.
‘You saw that on Sunday and it turned out well.
‘I think we are going to have to keep going in every game, no matter what the score is.
‘You could be four or five up, but you still need to keep going.
‘I don’t think there is ever a game you think you can stop at 60 minutes.
‘You always have to go to the very end — and that is the mentality the lads have.’
“Pressure gives you motivation and that’s when I play my best”