ADAM IDAH has not scored a goal since he notched the final strike in the 5-1 Premiership win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie on May 15.
The £9.5million striker sat out last Friday’s 4-1 Premier Sports League Cup triumph over Falkirk at Parkhead after firing blanks in the 1-0 opening-day success over St Mirren at the same venue and the 2-0 victory over the Dons in the north-east.
Idah has been substituted in both games and he suffered the same fate at half-time in the goalless draw against Kairat Almaty in the disappointing Champions League play-off first leg under the lights in the east end of Glasgow.
WAIT FOR IT…Adam Idah lines up for a Celtic corner-kick against Kairat Almaty.
Brendan Rodgers decided he had seen enough when he replaced the Republic of Ireland international hitman with Yang Hyun-jun as he rejigged his frontline as Daizen Maeda came in from the wing to lead the attack.
Idah is clearly struggling and, explaining the interval switch, the Hoops gaffer, speaking to the Daily Record, said: “There’s no rocket science in it. It’s all hard work. It’s all preparation.
“That will obviously lead to confidence and then you’ll obviously succeed as a player from that. I didn’t quite go for him in the first-half.
“I wanted a little bit more activity in and around the box, because I felt we could get up there. Adam’s a good boy. He’s an honest boy. He hasn’t quite started how he would have liked.
“But in games like these here, I can’t afford to wait and that’s why I made the change at half-time.”
There is now a question mark over Idah’s position as the champions prepare for the visit of Livingston on Saturday.
Rodgers may decide to give Shin Yamada his first start after the £1.3million summer recruit from J-League outfit Kawasaki Frontale made a 77th-minute appearance for another new Bhoy, Benjamin Nygren, last night.
CALM BEFORE THE STORM…Brendan Rodgers applauds the Celtic fans.
Johnny Kenny remained on the bench throughout, but could be given the opportunity to score his first competitive goal at Parkhead against David Martindale’s Premiership newcomers.
Or Maeda may be tasked with the role after his success last term after accepting the responsibility following the January departure of his compatriot Kyogo Furuhashi on his way to a phenomenal haul of 33 goals.
The decision lies with the manager, but it’s equally obvious Idah, who claimed 20 strikes last time out, requires an injection of confidence pronto.
Putting the hazardous trip to Kazakhstan to the side, Rodgers added: “We can’t think about Tuesday because we’ve got an important game on Saturday.
“We’ll make changes – we have to, to have the freshness in the team for next week, but we’ll go into the game looking to get the three points, get the fluency back in the team again.
“Then we’ll head off on Sunday for a long trek, but, hopefully, a rewarding one at the end.”
