Martin O'Neill has issued a fresh verdict on Kasper Hogh after the striker's most recent Celtic start. Hogh was given a start against Kilmarnock on Sunday as the Bhoys won 1-0 thanks to Liam Scales' first-half effort.
That came after Hogh thought he had ended his goal drought, and he produced his usual dancing celebration, but VAR spotted a debatable foul from Mika Baur in the build-up that led to it being chalked off.
Hogh looked a little more confident here, unleashing the sort of shots he has shied away from in recent weeks. The Dane still wasn't particularly sharp in front of goal, but he was at least regularly involved in attacks, something he has struggled to achieve during this torrid run.
Hogh actually scored a hat-trick at Kilmarnock back in August, in his second game for the club, but he has not scored since. The Dane will now be on a three-month goal drought as of Monday, but while O'Neill believes a goal will come, there is little doubt that the most important thing for Hogh is providing the sort of hold-up play Celtic need from him, and Sunday was a step in the right direction after some sorry displays in recent months.
Asked about Hogh after the game, O'Neill told Celtic TV: "I absolutely am. I'm delighted - I thought he'd got off the mark, it's obviously disallowed, and then he had a really decent chance after that. Missing that chance, that's someone who just hasn't scored for a while. I honestly believe, with the first one, he would have taken the second chance.
"But overall, just very, very pleased to have won in difficult circumstances. Perhaps you could say we made it difficult for ourselves, but even so, just really pleased. I thought Kilmarnock played strongly. Tactically they were very, very good and caused us problems throughout the afternoon."
Hogh conundrum goes on
O'Neill now finds himself in a position where he is having to give Hogh minutes to try to help him rediscover his confidence, but it comes at the price of playing in-form Camilo Durán out of position.
Durán is in electric scoring form, now with 13 goals for the season, but he is having to play wide and out of position whenever Hogh plays. That was the case on Sunday, and while Durán provided the assist for the winner, he did not have his best game.
That's going to be a concern as long as Hogh is not scoring.
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