It’s back to the serious stuff for Celtic and Brendan Rodgers.
You could argue that the international break has served Celtic well because it has allowed everything to calm down after the Glasgow derby defeat.
A fair few players went on international duty and many of them served mixed results, with Cameron Carter-Vickers losing in USMNT colours, but Adam Idah scored on Republic of Ireland duty.
Everyone knows that Celtic will win the Premiership title, but that doesn’t mean that standards should drop, and you sense that home defeat to Rangers last time out will still be stinging.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  CelticCeltic | 30 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 89 | 20 | 69 | 75 |
| 2 |  RangersRangers | 30 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 62 | 28 | 34 | 62 |
| 3 |  HibernianHibernian | 30 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 45 | 41 | 4 | 44 |
| 4 |  AberdeenAberdeen | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 38 | 46 | -8 | 43 |
That’s why it will be interesting to see what type of changes Rodgers makes for the visit of Hearts on Saturday at Celtic Park.
This is, of course, aside from the possible forced changes he will have to make, such as the injury to Kasper Schmeichel.
Adam Idah backed to return to Celtic’s starting XI for visit of Hearts
At first, it was Kyogo Furuhashi standing in Idah’s way and being the main centre-forward for Rodgers, but since he left in January, Daizen Maeda has taken up that centre-forward role.
You can’t argue too much because Maeda has been sensational, and despite the Japan star scoring against Rangers last time out whilst playing through the middle, Andy Walker feels he will be pushed out wide again.
As a result, Walker thinks Idah, who scored the winner for Ireland against Bulgaria in the UEFA Nations League, will come back into the starting fold, as he told Go Radio.
“There is Adam Idah, he will be on a bit of a high, not only was he missing out to Kyogo, but he is now missing out to Daizen Maeda, who has been playing through the middle,” said Walker.
“You have got options there to use – that’s the one thing you always have with the Japanese players. Kyogo was the same. Hatate has been in outstanding form.
“Maeda, whether he has been wide or through the middle, he has been terrific and is, undoubtedly, the Player of the Season in Scotland.
“I think he will go back to the wide area, and I think Adam Idah would start at the weekend.”
Idah’s stats for Celtic this season
Given how Idah performed during his loan spell from Norwich City, the club were always going to bring him back and sign him permanently in the summer.
It’s not Idah’s fault that he has had this massive price tag over his head, which at times, hasn’t helped because he has been judged on it quite a lot.
But, when you look at the overall picture, it has been a productive season from Idah, and you sense there is still a lot more to come.
| Competition | Apps | Goals | Assists | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Premiership | 27 | 8 | 1 |
 | UEFA Champions League | 10 | 3 | – |
 | League Cup | 4 | 2 | – |
 | SFA Cup | 2 | 1 | – |
| Total 24/25: | 43 | 14 | 1 | |
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
