Adam Idah on Celtic standards eye-opener and Kyogo link-up

After agreeing a loan deal from Norwich City until the end of the season last month, the Republic of Ireland internationalist’s first involvement for the Parkhead side was in the midweek Premiership clash at Pittodrie when he came on as a second-half substitute with his team trailing Aberdeen 1-0.

The big striker helped his side to rescue a point, teeing up fellow January recruit Nicolas Kuhn to level the scores. It felt like a dream start to life at Celtic, but the striker quickly realised a draw, even at a tricky venue like Pittodrie, will never be enough for his new club.

Adam Idah made his debut off the bench at Pittodrie (Image: SNS)

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But Idah insists he is quickly adapting to the raised expectation levels and feels he is thriving in his new environment.

“I’m loving it, everyone’s been great, training’s been good and I’m getting games so I’m loving life in Glasgow,” Idah said ahead of today’s visit to Motherwell.

“You wouldn’t enjoy football if you didn’t enjoy pressure. You have to be up for it and know how to deal with [the pressure]. I know there’s a lot of it here but it’s what you play the game for.

“There’s obviously a big difference between Norwich and here. In my first game played Aberdeen and when we drew I thought ‘OK decent result’, and it definitely wasn’t! The demand is what it should be because it’s such a big club. The more I’m around the place and the city it’s all football here, which is really good.”

While Idah is relishing the challenge of producing his best in every fixture at Celtic, there have been times lately where the pressure appears to have been getting to his team-mates as the Scottish champions have found themselves usurped at the summit of the table by fierce rivals Rangers. The concession of an injury-time equaliser at home to Kilmarnock which handed Philippe Clement’s side the initiative in the title race last weekend seemed to encapsulate a nervous energy around the Parkhead club at present.

But Idah is convinced his new team-mates have what it takes to turn the title race back around in their favour – starting with their visit to Fir Park this afternoon. 

“The lads have been through it before, it’s part and parcel of the game for there to be ups and downs,” he said. “We’re all professionals and we know how to deal with it. We’ve spoken about it, it’s not the first time it’s happened. It’s part of the game and we’re still confident. 

“There are obviously some new lads and lads who’ve come from other countries. But no matter where you are there’s always going to be some sort of pressure. It might not be as much as it is here but people deal with it in their own way. That’s the time where as a team, as a staff and a club overall that’s where we have to focus on our goal and get through it.”

He continued: “It’s intense but it’s such a big club that the demand for winning games is there every single week. I’m not used to it, it’s not like that in England where you can get a draw here and there but up here you need to win every game. That’s the big difference for me, which is understandable. It’s a great learning curve. To have that mentality of needing to win is great and the lads that have been here for a while understand that’s the case.”

Idah’s arrival prompted much debate among the Parkhead support whether he had been brought in as cover for main striker Kyogo Furuhashi, who has failed to hit the heights of his two years under Ange Postecoglou since Brendan Rodgers took over from the treble-winning Australian in the summer, or to augment the Japanese striker in attack.

Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi (Image: SNS)

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In their last two Premiership fixtures, Rodgers has elected to play them as a strike duo, adding a different dimension to his attack than what supporters have been accustomed to in his two spells as Celtic manager.

And while Idah is relishing the steep learning curve he has been on in Glasgow, becoming fluent in Japanese it seems is perhaps a bridge too far. So how has their partnership up front developed?

“I’m enjoying playing with him, in the games we’ve suited one another quite well,” Idah said. “We can both play the No.9 role quite well and we can both drop into midfield. We switched a few times at the weekend and no-one had told us to do that, we just had a good connection – he knows where I’m going to go and he knows the same about me.

“We suit each other quite well. We definitely can’t speak to one another but it just happened that we both know where one another is going to be and what runs we’re going to do. It helps the team that we’re quite versatile in our movements.

“I’m a big strong type who can hold the ball up and he’s a nippy little sharp centre-forward so we complement one another quite well. He’s a joy to play alongside, because I know when the ball comes into me, I know where he’s going to be.”