Kasper Hogh riddle continues to fox Celtic as Martin O'Neill opens up on misfiring striker

“Kasper had a brilliant game. That's the life of a striker - you have to be there to take them. His all-round game today was very good. He gave us a platform to play.”

Sunday, August 9, the words of Celtic assistant coach Shaun Maloney after watching striker Kasper Hogh score a 33-minute hat-trick in a 5-1 win over Kilmarnock.

Hogh had not long arrived at Celtic from Bodo/Glimt for £12 million, a record signing for the Scottish champions. His predatory instincts in Ayrshire led many to believe the Dane was on his way to the golden boot.

Kasper Hogh hasn't scored since Celtic last faced Kilmarnock. | SNS Group

Fifteen games on for Celtic, Hogh has not scored a goal since. In fact, his manager Martin O’Neill is yet to see him find the net, as he was recovering from a “small procedure” for the match at Rugby Park.

Maybe the visit of Kilmarnock, who he terrorised on that summer’s afternoon, on Sunday will be the match where Hogh finally finds the net again. That is, of course, if the 25-year-old gets the nod in attack.

Hogh’s star is waning. The 25-year-old has been eclipsed by fellow July signing Camilo Duran, who has netted 13 times this season and clambered off the bench to help Celtic defeat Besiktas on Thursday night. The Colombian did more in his half-hour cameo than Hogh did in double that time. The poor hitman didn’t touch the ball once in the Turkish penalty box in the opening period.

It would be unfair to judge Hogh wholly on his goals, although at £4m per strike so far, that is an expensive outlay. Physical and hard-working, he offers Celtic a focal point. O’Neill was pleased with his performance against Besiktas. “I want centre-forwards to be able to hold it and that is what he did,” said the manager. “He is not Duran, he is not a dribbler. But if he can do this for us against strong opposition it will stand him in good stead.”

Hogh’s belief is bound to be low. How could it not be? He is out of the Denmark squad for the first time in over a year and when he tapped in from an already rescinded free-kick against Besiktas, there was a slightly sarcastic cheer from the home crowd. The misfiring forward is a real talking point.

“I think Thursday night will be good for him,” continued O’Neill. “I said to him that I’m not worried about whether he scores a goal. Of course you want centre-forwards to score and of course centre-forwards live on them. But I said to him that last night I wanted him to be strong and fight when the ball is played up to him. I thought in terms of holding the ball up and bringing people into the game that he did really well.

“Centre-forwards need a goal. But that performance there against European opposition will give him confidence. I don’t know what side we will play him on Sunday. But this lad has scored goals in the Champions League, remember. He will get a confidence boost from last night in terms of doing that part of the game well. But it will be nice for him to score a goal.”

The problem Hogh perhaps had is that O’Neill will turn to Duran more often than not now. “At this minute, he is on fire,” added O’Neill of the South American. “He can play wide right, he has done that. He has played wide left. But centre forward is where he is dynamic.” For now, unlike his strike partner.