John Collins rips into ‘average’ Celtic player after defeat to Hibernian

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Celtic’s clash against Hibernian compared to the Bayern Munich game was rather different, to say the least.

A Bayern team featuring Harry Kane, Jamal Musiala, Michael Olise, Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane needed a stoppage-time goal from Alphonso Davies to progress in the Champions League.

Yet, Hibs only took two minutes to breach Celtic’s defence and, by the half-time break, they were 2-0 ahead, and in truth, Brendan Rodgers couldn’t argue about it because it was deserved.

That’s why, at the break, the Celtic manager, didn’t leave any stone unturned and he rang the changes by making three in total.

Adam Idah was hooked off for Jota, as was Luke McCowan and left-back Greg Taylor.

The issue with all of those three players was that they didn’t start in Munich, so they should have been fresh and provided the energy, but it was far from it.

John Collins slams Adam Idah’s performance for Celtic against Hibernian

Idah didn’t cover himself in glory at Easter Road and the Celts looked like a different animal with Daizen Maeda up top.

John Collins didn’t hold any punches and stated that Idah looked ‘average’, including how his manager and teammates would have been ‘frustrated’ with his 45 minutes.

Those words were echoed by Pat Nevin and they tried to explain what the Republic of Ireland star did wrong, as they told BBC Radio Scotland.

“For me, he hasn’t given enough in possession and out of possession,” said Collins. “Balls have been coming into the box and he hasn’t been there.

“There are a couple of times where I felt he should have played his teammates in, who were in better positions and I think his manager, and his teammates, who will be a little frustrated with him.”

Pat Nevin added: “The timing of his runs haven’t been great, either. That’s the big thing. Centre-forwards live and die by the fact that you need to time that run.

“He will say, ‘well, wait a minute, it’s about the timing of the ball as well’. But you can’t get caught offside that many times.”

Collins then stated: “I just think that he has got to offer more to his teammate and it was a very average 45 minutes from him.”

Idah’s record for Celtic this season

With Kyogo Furuhashi out of the door and no striker signed in January, then this is Idah’s chance to make that striker role his own.

That brace at Villa Park was a sign that he could be ready to go to the next level, but then there is his latest performance.

At the end of the day, he is the only senior striker at the club and he will continue to earn more minutes than usual.

But, the fans will be calling for Maeda to remain up top because he has been lethal beyond belief in that role and is now proving to be Celtic’s best player this season.