Celtic told Brendan Rodgers’ signing ‘hasn’t stepped up’, and another player is a ‘shadow’ of himself

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A fair few Celtic players took verbal hits following the Scottish Cup final defeat to Aberdeen.

To put it simply, it wasn’t what the doctor ordered for Celtic or Brendan Rodgers, and the penalty shootout heartache came as a huge surprise, especially given how the team had performed against Aberdeen this season. 

But to Jimmy Thelin’s credit, he changed it up, including the formation, frustrated the champions of Scotland, and they got stuck with no response.

There can be no complaints from Celtic, including from the players, especially those who were handed starts by Rodgers. 

The issue with a few of them is that this just isn’t a one-off, and there have been questions around their name for some time. 

• READ MORE: ‘Telling’ – Pundit thinks Brendan Rodgers sent the Celtic board a £20m Scottish Cup final message

Michael Stewart is critical of Celtic duo Nicolas Kuhn and Adam Idah

Nicolas Kuhn was flying during the first part of the season, but something has gone drastically wrong in 2025.

Michael Stewart feels that Kuhn is now looking like the ‘shadow’ of himself, and Celtic ‘missed the likes of Jota and Reo Hatate’ at Hampden.

Speaking to Premier Sports, Stewart also put Adam Idah’s name forward, a man signed by Rodgers permanently last summer, and how he just ‘hasn’t stepped up to the plate’.

“I think Celtic missed the likes of Jota and Hatate,” said Stewart. “I think Bernardo wasn’t great. I thought Engels wasn’t having the impact.

“Nicolas Kuhn, for the second half of the season, has been a shadow of what he was, and Adam Idah hasn’t stepped up to the plate in the way they would have hoped.

“So, those sides of things definitely helped Aberdeen.”

Kuhn and Idah’s Celtic season in numbers

When you look at the overall picture for Kuhn, it has still been a fantastic campaign, it’s just that most of the damage came during the first half of the season.

As for Idah, he has been stop-start all season long, and for the minutes he has played this term, he has been keen to defend his numbers and what he has brought to the table.

Either way, with the 2024/25 campaign done and dusted, this is how Kuhn and Idah’s numbers look for the season.