Celtic star lifts lid on pointed celebration and behind the scenes chat with manager as he tells doubters…
ADAM IDAH went from unused sub to match winner for the Republic of Ireland this week.
The Celtic striker was left on the bench by national team boss Heimir Hallgrímsson during the team’s 2-1 win over Bulgaria on Thursday night in the first leg of their Nations League play-off tie.
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But he returned to play a hero’s role in the second leg at the Aviva Stadium.
This time he was again named among the substitutes but was introduced by Hallgrímsson in the 66th minute.
The score was locked at 1-1 at the time and in the 84th minute Idah popped up with the winner.
Idah, 24, volleyed home from Mark Sykes’ lofted cross and wheeled away doing the ‘shoosh’ celebration.
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The Hoops ace said his reason for doing the celebration was to silence critics who had been giving him stick online,
And he revealed he had to have a chat with Hallgrímsson after scoring 14 goals for Celtic so far this season.
Idah said: “It was nothing bad, it was just me asking what I needed to do and he told me.
“Thankfully, he gave me some minutes on this occasion and I was able to show myself.
“I saw a lot of stuff online, so [the celebration] was just telling people to shut up, really.
“Obviously, I was frustrated with the first game, but I came on and did what I’ve been doing all season, so it was just to the people who were doubting me.”
Idah hopes that Hallgrímsson now has an idea of what he can do as the Republic of Ireland prepare for their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, after having secured their status in Nations League B with the win over Bulgaria.
He added: “Obviously, he had his reasons why I didn’t play in the last game. I was frustrated, I didn’t really agree with it, but that’s football.
“We are men at the end of the day and we had a laugh and a joke after the game. I think that’s all I needed to do, to go on the pitch and show what I could do and, thankfully, I did that.
“Hopefully, he can see what I’m about now. It was disappointing not coming on the other night, so I had that conversation with him.”
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