Former Celtic striker and current BT Sports pundit Chris Sutton has admitted he has sympathy for January addition Daizen Maeda after his start to life with the Hoops.
The 24-year old frontman arrived with lots of expectations, having just come off the back of the J-League season where he finished joint top goalscorer, and enjoyed his time under Postecoglou in Japan.
Despite scoring four goals in 11 appearances since his arrival, some fans have been critical of his performances.
However, writing in his weekly column for the Daily Record, Sutton explained why he holds sympathy for the Japanese internationalist, explaining that he does not believe the Hoops are currently playing to his strengths going forward.
“I do have some sympathy for Daizen Maeda. I know what it’s like in Glasgow. If you have a couple of quiet games in a row, you are written off as a dud.
“It’s been tough for him to adapt to Scottish football, and when you are a pace merchant who plays on the shoulder, it’s never going to be easy coming up against ten men strung across the 18-yard line.
“I still like his movement, and he gets in to some good positions. I’m not sure whipping high balls into the box is playing to his strengths, but even that can work if there are plenty of bodies in there around him.
“There’s no doubt Celtic haven’t quite been hitting the heights in the last few weeks, but it’s impossible to be 10 out of 10 every week in a league campaign.”
During some of Maeda’s first outings as a Celtic player, I think a lot of the criticism put towards him has been very harsh, and Sutton explains precisely what.
Thus far, those playing around him haven’t been playing to his strengths in a lot of games, and in certain fixtures, he has also been starved of service in front of goal.
Despite that, it is clear to see that Maeda is desperate to work hard for the team, doing so on Wednesday night against St Mirren without coming away with a goal to reward that.
Personally, I have seen enough signs from the striker to think we have a good acquisition on our hands, who will have success in Glasgow under Ange Postecoglou.
