Adam Idah: I always want to make an impact as a starter or a sub | OneFootball

Like every player at Celtic, Adam Idah would love to play every single minute of every game, but he knows that with the fixture demands and the quality within Brendan Rodgers’ squad, that’s not possible.

The striker’s aim, therefore, is to make an impact every time he does step on to the pitch, whether that’s as a starter or a substitute.

And the 23-year-old had done just that this season, scoring seven goals so far to add to the nine he netted in the second half of last season.

His most recent goals came in last weekend’s 4-1 win over Hearts at Tynecastle when he scored a double, and he’s aiming to add to that tally this Saturday when the Hoops play host to Ross County.

Speaking ahead of that game, the Irish internationalist said: “It’s been a positive week, with the league win against Hearts and then the game on Wednesday night.

“We have to take the positives from that game, and taking a point from that game is a decent one. Brugge are a good side, so this week has been a good one.

“Comparing it to last season and finishing on such a high, I thought I’d come in and score a load of goals so it’s probably not the start I wanted.

“But it’s only in the last couple of days that I’ve looked at my stats and I’ve got a goal about every 70 minutes so I think as a striker you have to look at that and be proud of that and just keep going.

“For me, the goal is to score as many goals as I can and that’s what I’m trying to do, so when I see stats like that, I just have to remind myself that it’s not probably as bad as what I thought it was going. So I just have to keep doing what I’m doing and score goals.

“When I signed, I knew what the plan was and I’ve proved to myself many times before that it doesn’t matter how long I play, I can make an impact, whether that’s starting or coming off the bench, so it doesn’t bother me how many minutes I’ve played, at the end of the day it’s about how much I can affect the team and how much of an impact I can make.

“I don’t think it’s frustrating. With the team we’ve got, it’s brilliant and we were joking about it the other day – it’s the best problem you could have, you could play anyone in this side and that’s something we keep building on this season.”

Brendan Rodgers’ side have been in impressive form this season, managing the twin demands of domestic and European football.

They are two points clear at the top of the Premiership table, while they have gained eight points from their opening five Champions League fixtures.

And with the next few months free of any international interruptions, the Hoops are hoping to continue building on the momentum they’re already established.

“It can be tough, especially for those of us who haven’t experienced the Champions League, going from such a high and then playing the league games.” Explained Adam Idah.

“But it’s all about learning and the experienced boys in the group help a lot, as do the staff, and it’s not a case of saying, we’re playing a league game so we can drop the standards, we want to keep the standards as high as possible for every game.

“If you look at the table, we have been doing great but within the group we know we’ve got a lot more to give and that’s something we’re working on every single day.

“International breaks can be quite difficult with players going away and then coming back at different periods, and maybe after long flights, so it can be tough, but now this period is a good time for us to regroup, get together and get as many wins and points as we can.”

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