Big Idah is a fine Celtic striker. His critics aren’t getting it at all.

There are people who simply won’t be convinced that we’re watching the emergence of a genuinely top-class Celtic striker in Adam Idah.

I don’t know which player they think they’re watching, but nothing is going to sell them on this idea. Their minds are made up. They believe they know better than the manager. They believe Idah isn’t worth the money. They believe he’s flopped.

Idah is approaching the 18-month mark at Celtic Park, and he is just three goals short of hitting 30. He’ll probably do it in what’s left of this season—and when you consider goals at Ibrox, goals at Hampden, goals in the Champions League, goals in the league—that’s a massive return.

It’s easy to criticise Adam Idah.

Very easy for some people, and they get a kick out of doing it. I knew the second he went one-on-one with the keeper at the end of the first half that he was going to get stick. The critics would be having a field day. I’d bet my mortgage Maeda doesn’t get as much for that one at the end. But he has banked a lot of goodwill.

So what amazes me is that this big lad hasn’t got even more goodwill in the bank—because he should have.

Thirty goals in 18 months. Let me put it this way: if someone had told you on the day he signed that he’d be here for the full following campaign, that he’d score three Champions League goals, two at Ibrox, net the cup-winning goal against the Ibrox club, and would have 27 goals by now—and we could have him for £9 million—how many of you would not have paid that?

So maybe I don’t get it. Maybe I’m thick.

Maybe I’m someone who just sees what he wants to see—but I don’t think I am. Because if this guy had 10 goals to his name in 18 months and cost us a packet, and hadn’t scored in big matches or delivered in key moments—if he hadn’t played a massive part in virtually winning us the league last season and the Scottish Cup—I wouldn’t hesitate to offer him the full measure of my criticism.

And regular readers know that.

I don’t spare anyone that kind of scrutiny.

If Maeda squares the ball today instead of trying to take it on his own, we win the game. Rodgers will almost certainly end the season a treble-winning manager, with five out of six trophies since returning—12 out of 13 in total. I still criticise him for refusing to change our style in these games.

And what have I been saying for weeks? The two most important jobs we have this summer are to tie Maeda up on a long-term deal and to get the manager to sign one of his own. The two most critical figures at the club—neither is immune from criticism, and nor should they be.

I’m not some fanboy who refuses to look at things with an analytical eye.

I’m not playing favourites because I like Idah more than other players in this team. When he deserves it, he’ll get stick. But he didn’t deserve it today, and he hasn’t deserved it these past few months.

Too many fans are judging him based on the transfer fee—and judging him very harshly. I don’t know what they expect. Hat-tricks every week?

No striker is going to give you that. If Idah was the sort of player who scores hat-tricks every week, Norwich would never have let him go. Or someone else would’ve snapped him up before we got the chance.

As I keep saying, this is a player who has scored so many goals in big games that if Norwich had got the same level of performance out of him—and the same scoring ratio—they’d have sold him for a fortune. If we decide to sell Idah, there will be no shortage of clubs wanting to buy him. A lot of people might not believe that. But it’s true.

We’ve got a big-game footballer here. And they’re one of the rarest things in the sport. We’ve got a guy who can score goals most weeks, regardless of the opposition. We’ve got someone who can play a very specific role in the team. You saw the way he held the ball up today. You saw how he played with his back to goal on some occasions. He’s sharp, alert, and knows how to finish.

That goal he scores today is a beauty, and he deserved it for an all-round good performance. He doesn’t get the credit he deserves.

A lot of people have already made up their minds that he’s not a footballer. I’m just glad none of them is managing our club. Because although Rodgers may have got a few things wrong today, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion he’d have played Idah up front regardless. And we’d have got our reward for it.

I’m pleased with the big guy. I’m genuinely happy with what he’s delivering—especially in recent weeks where he’s been excellent and looked clinical in front of goal. But it’s in the big games where Idah really comes to the fore.

When you think of what it took to score that late goal at Ibrox last season—the one that should have won us three points, the one that played a massive role in delivering the title—when you think of his composure in the last minute of a cup final, in what’s hyped as the biggest derby in the world… how can you not rate this guy?

Under pressure, under fire—he delivers.

And I expect another goal at Hampden. And a few more besides as we go towards the end of this campaign.