Even for someone who radiates positivity the way he seems to each day, Kasper Hogh must have found the second half of Celtic’s match with Dundee United a tough watch.

Not so much the improved second-half performance from Martin O’Neill’s side which yielded a point, but the fact that it came following his removal from the fray at the interval.

You’d have needed a heart of stone not to have felt a pang of sympathy for the Dane as a 13th game in a Celtic jersey came and went without him finding the back of the net.

Having teed up Camilo Duran for the opening goal, Hogh’s hopes of seeing his own name go up in lights ended after 45 minutes of profound frustration.

Even the player’s growing band of critics would have to concede that the Dane was – to some extent – a victim of circumstances on the night.

O’Neill began the match with his wide positions filled by Callum Osmand and Camilo Duran – both fine players in their own rights – but centre-forwards to trade.

Accordingly, the service into Hogh from the flanks was patchy. You can question the player’s touch and his movement in the box all you like. He cannot be held responsible for crosses being stopped at source.

It was a different story in the second half, or, at least, it might have been from Hogh’s perspective had O’Neill not kept him indoors.

With Jota and Haissem Hassan introduced, the kind of deliveries Hogh would have been praying for arrived after he’d taken a shower.

While you can understand O’Neill’s logic in moving Duran infield to his preferred role after seeing him score his 11th goal of the season, Hogh became the fall guy for the grand plan and another match came and went without him scoring.

‘He played a part,’ O’Neill stressed. ‘I thought he worked exceptionally hard for us again. One or two things that he tried maybe didn’t come off. But, overall, he’s made the goal.

‘That will give him a boost of confidence. We put on two wide players and I’m sure he’s probably frustrated that he’s sitting out and not playing a part in the second half.’

The trouble for Hogh is that opportunities to change the narrative are only going to diminish in the coming weeks.

Duran was often played out wide earlier in the campaign out of sheer necessity, but Celtic’s options on the wings have improved recently and will only continue to do so.

Jota is nearing the point where he can start matches. Hassan already can. Hyun-jun Yang resumes training next week. James Forrest and Seb Tounekti are still in the building.

That reduces the likelihood of Duran and/or Osmand being deployed as they were initially against United. It increases the possibility of Celtic’s record signing finding himself as second or third choice striker.

Such a scenario would have felt preposterous when he took the acclaim of the visiting support at Rugby Park on August 9 with the match ball jammed under his arm. To say he looked the part that day would be a gross understatement.

Scoring with a header from Arne Engels’ cross inside two minutes, Hogh side-footed home Benjamin Nygren’s square ball then smartly made space to nod home Duran’s cross to wrap up a hat-trick inside 35 minutes.

What was noticeable that day was that Celtic spent the entire game playing to Hogh’s strengths – crosses and cut-backs – as he stood between the width of the posts.

Despite his height, there seemed a recognition from those around him that he was a penalty box player as opposed to a target man. That necessitated a bespoke approach.

Yet, for reasons only they or the coaching staff could explain, Hogh’s team-mates often dispensed with that tactic in many of the key matches which followed.

In Linz, as Celtic wilted against LASK, and at Ibrox, as they capitulated against Rangers, the ball was repeatedly shelled up to the Dane. What did they expect to happen?

This brainless breakout of industrial football did neither the player nor the side any favours.

With the likes of Tounekti providing pitiful service from out wide, Hogh began to leave his station in search of the ball. Frequently, he was posted missing when the sought-after crosses occasionally arrived.

As any striker going through a goalless run will attest, such matters start to consume you.

Hogh’s performances lately have become typical of so many in his position down the years. The touch is often cumbersome, the movement predictable, the predatory instincts dulled through a lack of confidence. It must feel like being in the darkest of tunnels.

The Dane’s current predicament is fascinating because he is not some journeyman who’s found a step up in class just too much for him.

A man with eight caps to his name, Celtic signed him for a record £11million in the summer because of his superb record at the highest level. Last year, in the colours of Bodo/Glimt, Hogh netted against Manchester City (twice), Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan and Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League.

The 25-year-old is – demonstrably – a player who is capable of delivering against any opponent.

The question is if he’s able to hit those heights in any jersey other than the one he vacated to move to Glasgow?

It’s not just its remote location above the Arctic Circle which makes Bodo/Glimt a curiosity in European football.

The vast majority of the players who move there or who come up through the academy feel right at home with the culture at the club which has been set by the impressive Kjetil Knutsen since 2018.

Bodo has its distinct way of doing things. And who’s to argue with the methodology? Under Knutsen and his sizeable entourage, it’s won four titles and the Norwegian Cup since 2020. Two seasons ago, it became the first Norwegian side to reach the semi-finals of a European competition.

There’s certainly something special about the environment which Knutsen has developed. The players who thrive there are all tailor-made for it. But whether they are all outstanding as individual footballers is a matter of some debate.

What’s notable in the Knutsen era is the number of players who Bodo/Glimt have sold who’ve looked like fish out of water elsewhere.

Victor Boniface, now of Bayer Leverkusen, had gone from strength to strength. Hugo Vetlesen has done well since moving to Club Brugge two years ago.

But there’s a sizeable list of players who just haven’t cut it at other clubs. Patrick Berg, Fredrik Bjorkan and Jens Petter Hauge all departed the outpost with aspirations of cutting it in a bigger league only to return. Joel Mvuka, once of this parish, is now back at Bodo/Glimt after leaving Lorient.

Is it conceivable that Hogh is another of those who fitted into that unique club like a hand in a glove, but finds himself unable to replicate his form elsewhere? It’s beginning to look that way.

Right now, he appears ill-suited to whatever plan Celtic concoct while his scope for opportunities narrows.

This much can be safely said. With such a gargantuan price tag on his back and O’Neill duty-bound to select players he believes give him the best chance of winning matches, there’s no quick-fix solution to this.