Martin O’Neill made sure one forgotten Celtic player received special recognition after Saturday’s Scottish Cup Final victory, despite not featuring during the run-in.
Junior Adamu has endured a frustrating spell since arriving on loan during the January transfer window, making just six appearances across all competitions and struggling to break into the squad consistently.
In fact, the striker has not played for Celtic since the defeat at Tannadice back in March and was last included on the bench during the Scottish Cup semi-final win over St Mirren.
But despite his limited involvement, O’Neill was keen to remind everyone that Celtic may never even have reached Hampden without him.
Adamu’s only goal for the club came in dramatic circumstances against Dundee in the Scottish Cup at Celtic Park earlier this year.
With Celtic heading towards a shock cup exit, the Austrian forward scored virtually with the final kick of the game to force extra time.
Celtic eventually went on to win the tie and now, months later, have lifted the trophy itself after beating Dunfermline 3-1 in Saturday’s final.
Speaking afterwards, O’Neill made a point of highlighting the significance of that moment.
He said: [Sportscene]
“We talk about… Junior scores us a goal against Dundee at Celtic Park in the last minute to take it to extra time, otherwise we wouldn’t be here at all.”
It was a classy moment from the interim Celtic boss.
While players like Daizen Maeda, Arne Engels and Callum Osmand have understandably grabbed most of the headlines during the title run-in and cup success, O’Neill clearly wanted to acknowledge the contributions from squad players whose moments proved just as important along the way.
For Adamu, that late equaliser against Dundee may ultimately end up being remembered as one of the defining sliding-doors moments of Celtic’s season.
If Daizen leaves he will be remembered forever by Celtic fans as a legend and good luck to him