Misfiring Celtic striker must stop overthinking in front of goal as Chris Sutton passes on X-rated advice
The former Celtic striker has drawn on his own experience to offer Hogh some X-rated advice
Chris Sutton has challenged confidence-shot Kasper Hogh to ditch the doubts and adopt a more ruthless approach in front of goal as the Celtic striker battles to end his scoring drought.
The former Hoops hitman believes the Danish international is seriously lacking confidence and feels his situation is being made worse by repeatedly being substituted before he has the chance to play a full 90 minutes.
In his Daily Record column, Sutton drew on his own experience of struggling for goals during his time at Blackburn Rovers, revealing how former team-mate Tony Gale helped him rediscover his scoring instincts with some brutally simple advice.
Gale's message was simply to stop worrying and adopt a 'f*** it' mentality when presented with opportunities. Sutton explained: “Don’t think about things, don’t worry about missing, just stick the laces through it. I was always a striker who liked to place the ball in the net, but Tony was saying just smash it without overthinking things.
“And I think it’s got to that stage with Kasper Hogh. I watched him in the warm-up the other week and he was slowing things down, taking extra effort to place his shots in the net, being very deliberate. He should try the opposite. It’s time for the ‘f*** it’ approach. Almost play like you don’t care.”
Sutton questions Celtic's treatment of Hogh
Hogh's barren run continued during Celtic's 2-2 draw with Dundee United in midweek, when he was once again replaced at the interval, despite providing the assist for Camilo Duran's goal and producing an eye-catching backheel which created an opportunity for Benjamin Nygren.
But the towering centre-forward was still unable to convince his manager to keep him on for the second half. And Sutton feels the constant early withdrawals are doing little to restore the forward's belief, believing the criticism surrounding his lack of goals needs to be put into context.
He said: “I feel sorry for Hogh right now. He got hooked again at half-time and it’s become a regular theme. His confidence must be hit, but it’s not going to help build him back up when he’s getting left in the dressing room after 45 minutes or hooked soon after.
“People are bashing him on the head with the number of games he’s gone without a goal, but how many of them has he had 90 minutes? He’s not exactly missing chance after chance because Celtic are not creating chance after chance for him.”
Sutton also questioned whether Hogh has been receiving enough quality service to make the impact expected of him, adding: “Hogh thrives on the services of wingers, but rarely gets to play with them.
“How much time has he actually spent on the pitch with Hassan this season? Not much is the answer. I know there are questions about the Egyptian’s (Haissem Hassan) end product, but I suspect it would be easier for him to have a target like Hogh to aim for in the box.”
Struggling striker must be given fair chance to rediscover scoring touch
Martin O'Neill now faces a selection dilemma ahead of Celtic's trip to Falkirk, with the manager having to decide whether to persist with Hogh or give the striker a spell out of the starting line-up.
Sutton is open to either option but believes the Dane must be given a fair opportunity if he is selected from the beginning. He insists another half-time substitution would be particularly damaging, especially when strikers can often find their best opportunities late in matches as opposition defences begin to tire.
“If he does, he can’t hook him at half-time if it’s not going to plan,” Sutton continued. “I’ve been in games like these, and sometimes the chances come late on when defences start to tire.
“It’s a bit unfair doing the legwork only to get removed while someone else gets the benefit, leaving you getting slaughtered. Starting on the bench might be a better solution for him. Play Duran through the middle and then bring Hogh on to mix things up.
“He might come on and score when Celtic are comfortable, or he could even pop up with a crucial goal to win a match. Either way, he needs something to happen.”
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