‘That’s why’ – Pat Bonner knows the reason Daizen Maeda didn’t start as a striker for Celtic vs St Mirren

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Celtic’s win over St Mirren wasn’t as easy as the 5-2 scoreline made it out to be.

St Mirren pegged the Bhoys back twice and at 2-2, Brendan Rodgers made changes to the Celtic starting XI on the 65th minute to try and put the game to bed.

Hyunjun Yang stole the Celtic headlines as the South Korean bagged a brace and an assist in his 30-minute cameo appearance as Daizen Maeda added another to secure the three points in Paisley.

However, Maeda didn’t find the back of the net until Hoops forward Adam Idah was subbed off and Rodgers pushed the Japanese talisman into the sole striker role.

With the 27-year-old being so dangerous of late playing as the front man, why did Rodgers not start Maeda as the striker prior to Celtic beating St Mirren? BBC pundit and Hoops legend Pat Bonner knows why.

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Pat Bonner reckons he knows why Adam Idah was Celtic’s striker vs St Mirren and not Maeda

Speaking prior to kick-off, Bonner believes that the state of the St Mirren pitch forced Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers to make an adjustment to his tactics.

Bonner told BBC Radio Scotland, “It’s always difficult coming here. The team itself with Adam Idah up front, they probably will go a little bit longer today because the pitch looks a little bit… not as good as I’ve seen it in the past, let’s put it that way.

“They may have to go a little bit longer and that’s maybe why Idah’s starting up front.

“But Maeda can play up front, off the side and he’s still a real threat. Strong team and I expect with the result at Ibrox it should give them that little edge to go out and win the game.”

Daizen Maeda’s Celtic scoring record vs Adam Idah this season

Maeda is in rich goal-scoring form for Celtic this season, so much so that the fans are not even speaking about the loss of Kyogo Furuhashi to Rennes.

While Idah has scored important goals for the Bhoys as well, how does the Celtic duo’s record stack up against each other? Here, 67 Hail Hail takes a wee look:

Maeda is clearly enjoying the best spell of not just his Celtic spell but his career overall as the Japan international enjoys the adulation of the fans.

As for Idah, once again, the big Irishman is going to have to bide his time,e and when the opportunity comes, the Celtic striker will have to make his chances count.