Adam Idah answered his critics these past six days and showed why Celtic bought him.

It’s been a cracking couple of weeks to be a Celtic fan, hasn’t it? Honestly, it’s been a great few months overall. With so much going right, there was just one tiny cloud hanging overhead. But that cloud lifted six days ago at Celtic Park when Adam Idah got on the scoresheet in our Champions League win.

That goal from Idah was the missing piece, really.

He arrived with the weight of last season’s performances and a hefty price tag, which can unsettle even the best players. As I mentioned before, there was a bit of pressure from the media, the kind that always seems to fall on a Celtic striker who doesn’t start banging in goals from the off – while strikers at Ibrox often seem immune from similar scrutiny, regardless of their form.

I hoped he’d score against Hearts to give himself a boost.

He did, in fact, find the net that day, but the goal was ruled out for reasons still unclear. Some nonsense about VAR angles and hand-drawn lines. Yet, watching him celebrate that disallowed goal, it was obvious to me that he was on the verge of breaking through. You could see his confidence rise, and it was only a matter of time before things clicked for him.

Some of the lads pointed out the social media criticism aimed at Idah during half-time on Sunday, with claims he’d been poor. But what I saw was a striker starved of service, not one lacking ability. The problem lay with those around him, particularly Forrest – and it pains me to say that – and Palma, which is even more disappointing because I expected him to take control and show us what he’s got.

Once those two were substituted and we started creating proper chances, Idah put two of them away. That’s the hallmark of a quality player – give him the service, and he’ll deliver.

Those two goals came on the back of his strike against Bratislava in the Champions League, making it three goals in six days. Adam Idah is back, and he’s back with a bang.

The headlines today claim he blamed Norwich for his lack of goals up to now, but that’s not true. He didn’t blame anyone. He simply pointed out the challenges he faced – a disrupted pre-season and Norwich’s different training regime.

That’s not pointing fingers; it’s just reality. The drawn-out transfer saga affected his fitness and match sharpness, and it took him a bit of time to get back to his best.

Now that he’s firing on all cylinders, we’re seeing exactly why Brendan Rodgers was so determined to sign him. Rodgers knew what this lad could bring to the table, and he’ll only get stronger from here. Confidence is everything for a striker, and once they get that crucial first goal, it all starts to fall into place.

He’s proven himself in big games before, and now he’s got his first Champions League goal. There’s more European football ahead, and I’m confident there will be plenty more goals to come.

Idah offers us something different from Kyogo. He might not have Kyogo’s brilliant first touch or vision, but his strength and ability to hold up the ball are invaluable, particularly against teams that park the bus. He’s exactly the type of target man we need in those games – someone who can bully defenders and keep possession long enough for others to exploit the space.

We saw something else in those goals too, something I think Norwich fans missed.

His finishes were pure striker’s goals – the kind defenders hate to concede but frequently do when faced with someone who has that instinctive knack for being in the right place at the right time. Idah has that sixth sense for finding space in the box and putting the ball away, and that’s an asset any team would kill for.

So why didn’t Norwich manage to get the best out of him? Why did subsequent managers there fail to tap into his obvious talent? His instinct for goal is obvious. I cannot believe that they so completely failed to utilise it to its fullest.

But credit to the big man – he didn’t let himself get distracted or disheartened either by the length of time it took or his slow start when he got back. He kept his head down, worked hard, and seized his chances. It’s a shame his goal against Hearts was ruled out, but he took his one against Bratislava superbly, and his two at the weekend were brilliant finishes.

I trust the critics will lay off him now. I hope the fans who’ve been a bit impatient will give him their backing. As for those who were quick to tear him down, I reckon they’ve been put in their place. If they’ve any sense, they’ll stay quiet because the sniping after his international performances was embarrassing, to say the least.