Celtic winger Liel Abada’s contribution to today’s win over St Mirren shouldn’t be understated. He was central to the second-half comeback that, while admittedly against ten men, could have been far more uncomfortable than it was.
The Israeli international ended up putting together a man-of-the-match performance, which included a goal and an assist, powering the Bhoys to a 5-1 win.
After the match, journalists asked manager Ange Postecoglou about his happiness and whether the player should be praised for not ‘throwing his toys out of the pram’ at a lack of minutes in a Celtic shirt. But what may surprise a lot of people is that Abada has made more appearances for Postecoglou at the club than any other player.
Nobody beats Liel Abada for Postecoglou appearances
With 92 appearances in all competitions, 37 of which have come from the bench, nobody has actually been selected more than Abada in some form – just pipping Joe Hart. While it’s true his minutes total will lag behind other regulars, the fact remains that he has been absolutely central to the Postecoglou reign – right from the off against Midtjylland when he scored a debut goal.
Postecoglou was full of praise for his star when the queries came up post-match but clarified he has actually been getting a lot of football under his belt, especially taking into account his age at 21. Simply not throwing hissy fits when not starting isn’t a way to impress the Australian either.
The Celtic boss told The Scotsman: “What do you reckon would happen to players who throw their toys out of the pram, mate? He’s a really ambitious guy who wants to be at a big football club. He wants to win things and be the best he can be. That’s exactly where he is at. All our players, particularly the younger ones who want to go on to further opportunities, maybe to a stronger league, do you think they are going to go to a club where they are guaranteed game time? No, so it’s no different here. We are a big club. Nothing is guaranteed. You’ve got to earn everything and these boys do that.
“Liel was really good. It’s important — and it’s a weekly thing — that the guys who come on make an impact. The fact they’re not starting doesn’t affect their mindset. I just thought the way the game was going, it was a good game for him to come on into. I knew he would get a bit of space out wide to run at them. He’s a handful when he does that and he’s always a goal threat. It doesn’t matter what opposition he is up against. He was really good today. He’s played a lot of football over the last 18 months for us and he’s scored a lot of goals and supplied a lot of assists. He’s still got a way to improve, I’m sure, but again he’s another within the group who just wants to be better. Consistently when he is asked to contribute he makes a contribution.”
I have no doubt that the prospect would love to start more matches. It’s true that he hasn’t been a firm fixture in the starting eleven for quite a while now. But at this stage of his career, he is definitely getting a good opportunity to shine.
Indeed, only Kyogo Furuhashi has scored more goals than him during the Postecoglou era. A creditable 12 of those have come this season and the winger looks in good shape to surpass his tally last year of 15.
So perhaps the narrative should be less about if Abada is happy with the minutes he’s getting at Celtic and more about appreciating what he is managing to do for the club at such a young age.
In other news, Ange Postecoglou addresses James Forrest missing out on Celtic cup final.
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