Daizen Maeda has warned his Celtic team-mates there can be no Dortmund hangover in Dingwall on Sunday.
The live wire Japanese forward scored the Hoops’ solitary goal in a humiliating 7-1 Champions League defeat to Borussia on Tuesday night. It was a chastening experience for Brendan Rodgers’ side, who return to Premiership duty against Ross County this afternoon. They had been flying in the league – as well as putting five past Slovan Bratislava in Europe – before their capitulation at Signal Iduna Park in midweek.
And Maeda says it’s vital they get the loss out of their system before taking on Don Cowie’s battlers in the Highlands. The 26-year-old knows a poor display in the Champions League can’t be used as an excuse not to collect three points. Maeda said: “Obviously there is some tiredness because we have been travelling a lot but we can’t use that as an excuse.
“We need to perform on Sunday, especially after Tuesday. We know our supporters travel in good numbers to all of these games and we’ll have a lot of fans there on Sunday.
“We have to make them happy. Everyone is focused on Ross County already. We can’t carry the result from Dortmund on Tuesday with us.
“Regardless of what anyone says, we must focus on the next performance. On Sunday we’ll try to be dominant again, the way we have been so far this season. We know it will be a difficult game but have to keep our feet on the ground and do our best.”
Maeda has been a stand-out for Rodgers’ team so far this term. He has scored six goals already and looks certain to beat his previous best tally at Celtic of 11 in a season. At old club Yokohama Marinos he was a regular goal-grabber and he’s determined to get well into double figures now.
Maeda said: “The most important thing is to contribute to the team winning. But if my numbers go up it would be great. If I keep playing like this – scoring and assisting in every game – those numbers will go beyond what I have done here in the past.
“I now have the feeling that I can score in every game I play. When I was at Marinos I was top goalscorer in that season [2021/22]. And I have a similar feeling to that now. Hopefully I can get as many as possible.”
Maeda has been a key player for Celtic since Ange Postecoglou signed him. He’s excelling under Rodgers now and the Japan international believes he’s leading by example in the Parkhead dressing-room.
He said: “I’m not really a player who provides leadership to the team but I do try to lead in how I play. That’s the way I try to take responsibility.”
Maeda will represent his country next week when the Japanese take on Saudi Arabia and Australia in World Cup 2026 qualifiers. And after performing well at the tournament in Qatar two years ago, the wide man admits he’d love to do it again in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
He said: “Playing in another World Cup would be amazing. I need to do my best in every single game for Celtic. After that, it’s my main focus.
“Can this Japan squad qualify for the World Cup? Yes!”