Adam Idah reckons his perfect ending to last season could have caused his sluggish start to the current campaign.

The Celtic striker admits he may have been guilty of believing his own hype after signing off his initial loan spell from Norwich City in style with the Scottish Cup Final winner against Rangers at Hampden in May which clinched a domestic double for the Hoops. It helped earn Idah a permanent £9.5 million move to the Scottish champions in the summer but he admits he wasn’t content with his form in the first couple of months of this season.

On reflection, the 23-year-old is now more satisfied with the progress which saw him take his goals tally to seven with a double in last Saturday’s 4-1 win over Hearts at Tynecastle. Idah is now looking to kick on and improve his all-round contribution for Brendan Rodgers’ side. He said: “I don’t know the exact reason, but I might have gotten a bit too carried away with myself from last season.

“The high I finished on last season, I might have thought I could just come back and hopefully it’ll be the same. But, as we know, football doesn’t work like that. Like I said, it’s just reflecting back and coming back to phase one and being myself. I know what I’m capable of doing, and it’s just getting back on track and doing the things I know I can do.

“I probably wasn’t too happy with how I started the season. It was only in the last couple of days when I look back and see I think I’ve actually had a goal every 75 or 76 minutes. It kind of made me realise it’s not actually as bad as what I thought, and I think for any striker, if they’ve got a start like that, you’d be pretty proud of yourself

“So for me, now it’s just driving forward and getting as many goals as I can. I wouldn’t say I’m quite hard on myself. I think I’m very honest with myself. Yeah, goals are great, but in terms of how I’ve actually performed, probably not to the best that I wanted to perform, so I wouldn’t say that’s being too harsh on myself.

“I think I’ve got people who support me enough to tell me what I need to do, and if I’m doing well, they tell me I’m doing well and whatnot.

“I think for me, it’s just being honest. I’m not one of those guys that is going to shy away from the challenge, and if I’m not doing well, I’ll try and overcome that, and if I’m doing well, it’s just keeping that level head and keep pushing forward.”

Adam Idah celebrates Celtic goal
Adam Idah celebrates Celtic goal

While he has had to settle for being used as an impact substitute for much of the season, Idah is simply relishing any opportunity to lead the line for Celtic. The Republic of Ireland international reckons the role is a simple one in a side which provides so much creativity and ammunition from wide areas.

“It’s unreal, especially with the wingers and midfielders,” he said. “Every time we play, you get a lot of the ball, and it’s not a case where you’re chasing balls down and you’re doing the scrappy bits.

“The team makes it so easy for you to just get in the box and hopefully tap in a goal, so it’s really nice, and hopefully we can keep that going. It’s not really fazing me, coming on as a sub or if I’m starting a game.

At the end of the day, each and every one of us wants to win every game, and it doesn’t matter if that’s about playing five minutes or 90 minutes. You’re all trying to make an impact in that game, and I think that’s the challenge for all of us, is to do the best we can, and I’m sure everyone’s enjoying it right now.

“It’s a busy period right now, everyone’s going to have an opportunity here, and I think no matter what game it is, no matter when it is, I think you can throw anyone in the starting line-up and it’s not going to be any different. That’s a good problem to have.

“We’ve got such a great squad now. A lot of players will probably have an opportunity now to get some game time under their belt. At the end of the day, it’s about winning games and everyone’s in it together.”

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