BRENDAN RODGERS has been delighted by the impact made by January loan signing Adam Idah at Celtic, with the striker’s five goals in his first five matches providing a vital spark in attack for the champions.
And he is pleased the seemingly low-key acquisition from Norwich City has proved more than a few doubters wrong in the process.
But one player he is refusing to write off is Kyogo Furuhashi, the club’s leading goalscorer of the previous two campaigns who has endured varying fortunes this term since Rodgers replaced Ange Postecoglou as manager last summer.
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So impressive has Republic of Ireland internationalist Idah’s impact been at Parkhead since his arrival, he has managed to keep fans’ favourite Furuhashi out of the side.
After dropping the Japanese striker to the bench for the start of the 7-1 victory over Dundee in midweek, Rodgers insists he is no stranger to making big calls when it comes to the man leading the line for his team. But he also pointed to the service which has been largely lacking for the frustrated Furuhashi this season.
“Don’t get me wrong, [Furuhashi] has maybe suffered a little through not having that same level of delivery,” Rodgers said of his striker’s issues with consistency. “With the wide men before, they got in behind, crossed and he was there.
“If you are not getting in behind so much, or you can’t get in behind for whatever reason, then he is maybe not getting crosses in for him.
“That is not something we have asked to happen. If you look at the game the other night, we had crosses coming in and produced three goals with headers.”
The arrival of 6'2 Idah has certainly offered those wide players a different dimension than the diminutive Furuhashi in the box. Indeed, the Irishman’s headed goal last weekend against Motherwell looked like a tribute to a bygone era when the likes of John Hartson and Chris Sutton would terrorise defences in the Scottish top flight with their aerial prowess. But Rodgers insists there has been no shift in focus from those tasked with providing for his attackers.
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“No, it hasn’t [been an instruction to put more crosses into the box],” Rodgers said. “But when you have that presence [with Idah] it makes it maybe a bit more apparent. Our game is about attacking down the sides as well as in central areas. A lot of our goals come from balls into the box, either from wide or half space.
“But when you have someone that dominant in the air and with that physicality it becomes even more apparent. Especially when he scores a couple with his head. It was a masterclass in attacking the ball with the back of his head!
“A lot of the goals come from cutbacks. As I said, I had seen the team play before, if you trace back to my time when I was here before, we had lots of goals from wide areas. Whether it was Tierney, Forrest or Roberts. We had balls coming in and lots of runs to penetrate. Nothing we are asking is any different. The execution maybe has not been as consistent.”
Given the murmurings of discontent amongst sections of the Celtic support when Idah’s name was the only one to join winger Nicolas Kuhn on the transfers-in column during the winter transfer window (with former Norwich front man Sutton a prominent voice questioning his suitability for the Parkhead club), Rodgers admits it is a satisfying theme of the current campaign for his team to prove their doubters wrong – a trend he hopes to continue as they look to regain the initiative in the Premiership title race.
"I think it's a wee bit of how it's been this season,” Rodgers said. "Hopefully there will come a time when I can be trusted. I sort of have an idea what I'm doing.
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"This was a player that came to us late. His agent had rang me up and said there was a possibility he was going to go.
"The agent knew I'd liked him as a young player. When he told me he was available it excited me because I'd seen him score a hat-trick in the Premier League as a young player.
"I've seen his profile and sometimes players just need a bit of a change of environment.
"The storyline or the negativity about him being third choice striker at Norwich, for me that wasn't the case. I know the potential that is there with him.
"At 23 years old, he has everything to be a really top striker.
"Coming into this environment, I think part of my strength is helping players develop and improve. He's come in and really enjoyed it. He's shown the presence he gives the team."
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