Former Celtic midfielder Peter Grant has defended one Hoops star he believes has been harshly criticised this season. With Celtic drawing 1-1 at Ibrox, one player stood out to Grant—someone he believes played a huge role in earning a point after being 1-0 down at half-time.

That player is, of course, Adam Idah, who scored the equaliser after a VAR check found that Daizen Maeda was not offside in the build-up and didn’t interfere with Liam Kelly’s view of the goal. It was a moment that showed Idah isn’t giving up on his Celtic career, despite the over-the-top criticism he has received this season from some.

Idah has scored 18 goals this season – hardly a poor tally for a player who is often tasked with coming off the bench to change games. It shows that the scrutiny he’s faced has gone overboard, largely due to his £9 million price tag.

With Grant revealing that he is a huge supporter of Idah, despite the noise surrounding whether he is ready to lead the Celtic line consistently like Kyogo has, it’s clear that the young striker has the backing of some key figures at the club.

He said: (BBC Sportscene), “Yeah, I think it’s been very difficult for him because he missed pre-season. And as a young man, I think he’s been harshly criticised. I’m a big supporter of him, and I think he’s only going to get better. I saw a lot of him at Norwich, and although he missed a lot of pre-season this year, he’s only played, I think, two full 90 minutes this season. For his goal ratio, that’s terrific.

“What I liked about today was that, even though he missed a chance he should have scored, he didn’t just slide it by the goalkeeper. He misses a big chance but is still willing to get in the box again to score goals, and that’s what will always get him out of trouble – the fact that he wants to go back and score.

“His goal-scoring ratio is fantastic. He’s a young man who came from a club like Norwich to Glasgow Celtic, where the number nine is expected to score 30 goals a season.

“But it’s completely different now because you’re getting taken off after 60 minutes, or you’re coming on after 60 minutes. So, you’re not going to play the full 90 minutes in the game, and that’s very, very difficult.”

It’s a fair point from Grant. It’s been an adaptation period for Idah at Celtic, week in, week out. However, the Irish striker has stepped up in recent weeks after Brendan Rodgers laid down the gauntlet to the team.

This is his first real consistent run in the team, and Idah has scored four goals in three games. Is that a coincidence?

No, Celtic look like a better team with him in the starting XI, and it will be interesting to see if he retains his place next season, with the Hoops likely to sign a striker in the summer following Kyogo’s departure.