“We want to win the game, we want to get through,” Adam Idah

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The Celtic Star

·14 febbraio 2025

“We want to win the game, we want to get through,” Adam Idah

Adam Idah spoke to the media ahead of his manager Brendan Rodgers making his appearance in the media room at Lennoxtown this afternoon…

Adam Idah of Celtic battles for possession with Dayot Upamecano of Bayern Munich during the UEFA Champions Knockout Play-off First Leg match between Celtic and Bayern München at Celtic Park on February 12, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

This was the pre-match media conference ahead of tomorrow’s Scottish Premiership match against Dundee United as Celtic look for a victory that would extend the lead at the top of the table to 16 points. Not too much was said about tomorrow’s game with it inevitably being overshadowed by the UEFA Champions League match at the Allianz Arena as Celtic go searching for a two goal victory that would take us through to the last 16. Improbable but in football nothing is impossible.

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So little or nothing about the Dundee United game but Adam can only answer the questions that he’s asked…

Auston Trusty, Adam Idah, Alistair Johnston, Arne Engels and Jeffrey Schlupp of Celtic acknowledge the fans following during the UEFA Champions League Knockout Play-off First Leg match between Celtic and Bayern München at Celtic Park on February 12, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: Adam, how’s the last few days been after that massive tie on Wednesday night?

Adam Idah: “Yeah, it’s been good. It was a tough game, but I thought we’d done well overall. We knew it was going to be tough. They’re obviously a top team, one of the best in the world, but I thought we put up a good fight and look, we’re still in this tie and it’s a big one on Tuesday.”

Q: We spoke to a few boys after the game and said specifically that the last 15-20 minutes gave you a lot of confidence going forwards that you can go toe-to-toe with Bayern. Has that been the message relayed to you by the manager over the last few days?

Adam Idah: “Yeah, 100%. I think it’s just having that confidence and belief going into these big games. We can go toe-to-toe with the big teams, it’s just going out and actually doing it and proving it. Like you said, the last 15-20 minutes was really good. It was good for us and all the fans backed us. Everyone’s looking forward to Tuesday. We’re still in it and we’re looking forward to it.”

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Daizen Maeda celebrates scoring with teammate Adam Idah during the Premiership match between Celtic FC and Dundee FC at Celtic Park on February 05, 2025 . (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: How do you as a group of players manage to put Tuesday to one side, knowing that you’ve got a big league game at the weekend? How do you do that when you’ve got such big fixtures either side?

Adam Idah: “I think myself personally, at the start of the season, I found it quite tough going from Champions League back to playing league games. But I think having the experienced boys in the group really helps, like Callum, Greg, Jamesy. They kind of help you get through it. It’s the same goal with every game. We want to win games and we want to go out and perform well. At the end of the day, like I said, we all have the same goal and we want to achieve the same things. It can be tough but you have to get through and it’s a game of football at the end of the day and you want to win those games.”

Q: Adam, what was going through your mind after 25 seconds vs Bayern?

Adam Idah: “Yeah, it was a bit of a mad one. It was an unbelievable start but these things happen in football. I still don’t know myself, is it? Is it like interrupting with Neuer and that? It happens and I thought the boys put out a really good shift in the whole game and we stuck to it. We never gave up right until the very end. It was a really exciting game. It was a good game. Like I said, we’re looking forward to it.”

Q: Were you surprised when the flag went up?

Adam Idah: “I was and I wasn’t because I knew I was offside. I just didn’t know how much of an impact I was making on Neuer. Watching it back, maybe I did. I don’t know. It’s a difficult one but hopefully we can try and put it right on Tuesday.”

Q: What’s it like in a game like that? You’re obviously coming up against one of the best teams in Europe. Does it just take a while to almost adapt to the level, the tempo they’re playing at as well?

Adam Idah: “I don’t think so. I think we’ve played in a lot of big games now already up until this game. I think we’re a top team as well and we’ve proved ourselves that we can play at that level. I think we’ve learned a lot from the games previously, for the likes of the Dortmund game. You can’t switch off at any minute. You have to be on it all the time and that’s something we’ve learned. I think you could tell that by the game on Wednesday night. Even though we didn’t probably have as much as the ball, it’s about the other side of the game being defensive, staying compact and we’ve done that really well. Like I said, these are the types of games where you get your chance, you have to take it and if you don’t, other teams can punish you. They’re obviously a great side and it’s up to us to keep switched on.”

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Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Celtic, looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League Knockout Play-off First Leg match between Celtic and Bayern München at Celtic Park on February 12, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: The manager mentioned after the game that there will be times in the Champions League games where you have to suffer a bit without the ball. The progress you’ve made as a team is that you can go through those periods and come out stronger and fight back and get back in the game. Does it feel like that? Does it feel different? You mentioned Dortmund, does it feel different to that now that the team has grown?

Adam Idah: “Yes, 100 per cent. From the Atalanta game, I think that was probably the first game we’ve had where we did have to sit back and be compact and not have as much as the ball. We took a lot from that game, understanding and realising that you won’t have a lot of the ball in these European games. It’s another side of the game that we worked on and we’ve been doing really well and just sticking with that now. Like I said, it’s not switching off from that and just being together as a team.”

The corner flag inside the stadium prior to the UEFA Champions League match between FC Bayern München and Paris Saint-Germain at Football Arena Munich on November 26, 2024 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

Q: I guess everyone will want to play a part, being involved in the Allianz Arena, it will be no different for yourself?

Adam Idah: “Yes, obviously it’s an unbelievable stadium and it’ll be a fantastic night. Of course, everyone wants to play but unfortunately that’s probably not going to be the case. At the end of the day, it’s about the team. I think whether you play or you don’t, everyone wants to play their part. We want to win the game, we want to get through to the next phase and that’s our biggest aim at the moment.”

Adam Idah scores Celtic’s first goal during the UEFA Champions League match between Aston Villa and Celtic at Villa Park on January 29, 2025 (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Q: You scored twice in the last away game at Villa. If you did get the nod, would you back yourself to deliver again?

Adam Idah: “Yes, I’m always confident when I’m playing. I don’t really care what team I’m playing. I always want to score a goal and that’s probably why I was a bit frustrated at the last game. I didn’t really have many opportunities and hopefully I can put that right in the next game.”

Adam Idah scores Celtic’s second goal past Emiliano Martinez of Aston Villa during the UEFA Champions League match between Aston Villa and Celtic at Villa Park on January 29, 2025. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Q: How would you assess the tie as it stands?

Adam Idah: “It’s been really good. I think obviously we were probably the underdogs going into the game and I’m sure there was a lot of talk that we were probably going to get battered and whatnot and that wasn’t the case. We put up a good test and we’re still in the tie. Daizen had a great goal at the end of the game and keeps us in it so it’s all to play for on Tuesday.”

Q: Do you feel that it’s one of the biggest games of your career, Adam?

Adam Idah: “Yes, it’ll be up there. It’s one of the biggest stages in world football. It’s a great opportunity for every single one of us to go out and improve ourselves. It’s the biggest stage, everyone’s watching so I’ll be up there with one of the biggest games.”

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