Striker Adam Idah is an expensive spectator as Celtic close in on domestic treble

With the league title now all but mathematically secure, the likelihood is that Adam Idah will celebrate his first full season at Celtic by winning a domestic Treble.

Realistically, two trophies are now in the bag. With ten-man Rangers snatching a dramatic late draw at Pittodrie, the champagne will remain on ice for now.

But, 15 points ahead with five games left to play and with a vastly superior goal difference, Celtic don’t just have one hand on the title. They now have nine fingers clasped around the Premiership trophy, adding to the League Cup they won back in December.

Barring some kind of disaster, a third piece of silverware will almost certainly follow with the Scottish Cup come the end of the campaign.

Celtic face St Johnstone in the semi-finals at Hampden this weekend, on a revenge mission after their recent defeat in Perth, with either Hearts or Aberdeen awaiting in the final.

A clean sweep of trophies would doubtless have been the target for Idah when Celtic spent a hefty £9million to sign him from Norwich City last summer. 

Celtic captain Callum McGregor offers a few pointers to Idah in a one-sided game at Celtic Park

But that fee continues to appear questionable at best. Excessive and inflated, Celtic look like they have paid over the odds for a player who simply isn’t doing enough to justify the outlay.

Even in the 5-1 trouncing of a woeful Kilmarnock side in the Saturday lunchtime sun, Idah failed to shine.

Celtic were utterly dominant, racing into a 4-0 lead after 25 minutes, but the contribution of their No 9 was minimal.

Indeed, despite the fact they were carving Killie open at will, some of Celtic’s attacking play was breaking down when the ball was played into the feet of Idah.

That was something which earned him a rebuke from captain Callum McGregor at one point after a clumsy touch and lay-off from the big striker had seen a promising move falter.

The fact that Idah could look so laboured and unimpressive in a match where his team were so free-flowing and dominant raises questions ahead of this weekend’s semi-final.

It’s not difficult to imagine this being exactly the kind of match where Kyogo Furuhashi, or any of Celtic’s best strikers from yesteryear, would have happily helped themselves to two or three goals at the very least.

Speaking just last week, former Celtic striker John Hartson questioned Idah’s attitude and his ability to make the No 9 jersey his own.

Daizen Maeda celebrates scoring during a first half in which Celtic were utterly dominant

The door was ajar for the 24-year-old when Furuhashi was sold to Rennes back in January. But he has fundamentally failed to grab the opportunity. It’s passing him by.

Celtic’s first-choice front three now sees Daizen Maeda playing through the middle, flanked by Nicolas Kuhn and Jota out wide.

Idah simply isn’t in the equation. Barring an injury to one of the aforementioned trio, he will be on the bench at Hampden on Sunday.

This was a chance on Saturday to stake his claim for a starting berth. But, hooked after an hour on the back of another unproductive display, it was a chance he didn’t take.

Idah has scored 14 goals in 47 matches for Celtic this season. But the numbers only tell part of the story. His performance levels have largely been miles off the required standard.

Brendan Rodgers spoke unequivocally after the Killie match, insisting that he will still be the Celtic manager come the start of next season.

As for the make-up of the squad? There’s less certainty around that. Rodgers promised changes on the back of the defeat to St Johnstone.

Having spent £9m on Idah only a year ago, it would be a pretty radical move if Celtic were to cut their losses on the Republic of Ireland international in the summer. But the expectation is that they will sign a new striker in the close season, raising the distinct possibility that Idah will start next season as third choice.

That’s not what Celtic had in mind when they forked out top dollar to sign a player about whom Rodgers spoke in glowing terms when he arrived in Glasgow to sign a five-year deal.

Idah isn’t a raw talent. He’s 24 years old and has won 30 caps for his country. He should be coming into the prime of his career.

Yet, instead, he looks to be little more than a squad player at Celtic. The form he showed in the second half of last season now looks like an anomaly.

A purple patch back then saw fans implore the club to sign him, whereas the mediocrity this season is a return to the norm and explains why he couldn’t get a game with Norwich in the Championship.

Idah was one of four changes to the team from the defeat in Perth the previous weekend, with James Forrest, Greg Taylor and Liam Scales also coming in as Rodgers demanded a big response from his side.

Safe to say, he got it. Celtic produced some slick attacking football in the first half, blowing Kilmarnock away in what became a demolition job.

Reo Hatate got things underway when he pinged one into the top corner from 25 yards on eight minutes, with Maeda tapping in from close range to make it 2-0. 

An absolute howitzer from Cameron Carter-Vickers made it three, before Hatate put Celtic 4-0 up when he finished a flowing team move by sitting down Lewis Mayo with a dummy and then calmly stroking the ball home.

Killie were being ripped apart. They are having a poor season under Derek McInnes and now face a fight for survival heading into the post-split fixtures.

Truth be told, this was a terrible advert for Scottish football in front of the Sky Sports cameras. It was as one-sided a game as you could ever hope to see.

Killie pulled one back through a fortuitous cross-cum-shot from Danny Armstrong, before Anthony Ralston scored in the closing stages of a second half that had become a non-event.

The fans streamed out of Celtic Park content at what they had seen, with many no doubt planning to return to the stadium for a title party prior to the late drama at Pittodrie.

All focus will now turn to Hampden and the two matches which now stand between Celtic and another Treble.

It was at the national stadium last season where Idah made himself a hero among supporters after scoring the winner against Rangers in the Scottish Cup final. But, almost 12 months down the line, his Celtic career is drifting.

With the summer transfer window approaching and new recruits expected through the door, time is fast running out for him to become Celtic’s main man up front.

CELTIC (4-3-3): Sinisalo 6; Johnston 7 (Ralston 76), Carter-Vickers 7.5, Scales 7, TAYLOR 8 (Schlupp 60); McGregor 8, Engels 7.5, Hatate 8; Forrest 7 (Kuhn 60), Maeda 7 (McCowan 81), Idah 6 (Jota 60). 

Booked: None.

Manager: Brendan Rodgers 8.

KILMARNOCK (4-5-1): O’Hara 5; Mayo 4, Wright 5, Findlay 5, Ndaba 5; Donnelly 5, Lyons 6, Watson 6 (Ramsay 88), Murray 5 (Kennedy 77), Armstrong 6 (Deas 46); Wales 5 (Watkins 46). 

Booked: None. 

Manager: Derek McInnes 5.

Referee: John Beaton.