Martin O'Neill can continue to back Kasper Hogh publicly all he wants, but his actions speak far louder. The Celtic boss continues to say Hogh just needs a goal to regain his confidence and start playing well, but another game came and went without a goal on Wednesday night.

Most expected Hogh to be dropped after he was dragged off following another abject display during Sunday's narrow league win over Hibs, but he was handed another start against Dundee United. That's despite not only Hogh performing poorly for the Bhoys, but with the much more clinical and in-form Camilo Durán being forced to play on the right to accommodate for the misfiring Dane.

Hogh hasn't provided a single Celtic goal since his second game for the club, when he scored a hat-trick back in August, and he has offered very little on and off the ball.

Still, he was handed yet another start on Wednesday night, and not for the first time this season, he was dragged off by O'Neill at half-time. Hogh was credited with an assist for the Durán goal, but he once again drew a blank in front of goal, and he once again frustrated with a clumsy display.

O'Neill said this week: “So, he’s a box player. I think the one that Callum Osmand slid across the box, I think a confident Kasper would be sliding that one into the net, a wee bit like the second game of the season at Kilmarnock.

"Yeah, definitely, just a wee bit of lack of confidence at this minute. He would need a goal. But, you have to fight through these things, and you have to find yourself on the side.

"There’s a bit of competition for places, you know. Particularly if, really, as we’ve said this before, if Durán’s best position would probably be at centre-forward.”

So, the veteran boss is not losing faith in the £11million signing who could go on to become a record signing if add-ons are met. But his actions speak louder than words. Only a couple of weeks ago, O'Neill dragged Hogh off at half-time against Benfica, and he did it again against The Terrors.

Hogh's Celtic stats so far

• Appearances: 15
• Goals: 3
• Assists: 3

O'Neill is doing the right thing by backing Hogh in public, but he can't hide that not even he can bare to watch the striker for more than 45 minutes. That is damning.

Hogh has to offer something, whether it is goals or good hold-up play, but offering nothing is not an option. O'Neill is not getting the very best out of a clearly impressive player in Durán, who now has 11 goals this season, because he is playing him wide at Hogh's expense, and he has other players he can use instead of the Dane, with Callum Osmand also currently playing wide and youngster Shim Mheuka settling for cameos.

Why? Because Celtic appear to have paid over the odds for a striker, committing an £11million fee for a player who can't score for a dominant team for which playing as a striker in the Scottish Premiership is an absolute luxury in terms of goalscoring opportunities.

Other players are not offered such grace amid poor performances, but Hogh is being afforded it because of his fee, which is unacceptable management, especially when it's coming at the expense of others.

Hogh hasn't produced a good performance since the first few games of the season, and months has now past. Confidence crisis or simply a lack of quality, that's something Celtic need to find out, but there is absolutely no basis for Hogh to keep starting games in the meantime.