The fractional nature of Celtic's season conjured up yet another saviour on Easter Sunday at Dens Park, as Kelechi Iheanacho struck late on to raise their title hopes from the dead.
Iheanacho replaced the misfiring Tomas Cvancara while Dundee celebrated their equaliser on the hour mark.
With his sole shot on goal, the Nigerian striker made no mistake, restoring Celtic's lead with eight minutes to play after Simon Murray cancelled out Yang Hyun-jun's early opener.
Injury travails have been a running theme of Celtic's season and Iheanacho is a key protagonist, mustering just 16 appearances in all competitions since joining the club beyond last summer's transfer deadline.
The 29-year-old believes he is now fit enough to regularly start games after a series of hamstring issues.
Iheanacho admits he was dejected watching his team soldier on while he was unable to contribute, but that manager Martin O'Neill has instilled in him a newfound confidence.
"It feels good to get the win for the team," Iheanacho said, after helping his side cut the gap on Premiership leaders Hearts to just three points with six games to go. "Collectively, as a team, we really worked hard, in the first half especially, to get the win today.
"So it feels good. It was really massive for the team, where we are in the table, close to the top, so it’s massive.
"It would have been scary to drop points because it would have been hard for the rest of the season. It was a great finish, so I’m happy.
"It’s massive, we need to keep winning to get to the end.
"And obviously I'm happy that the fans are really happy going back to Glasgow. So it's really, really good to help the team to do that today.
"I'm sure I'm fit to start games, but obviously it's up to the manager to pick who he wants to start the games. But I'm really sure I'm perfectly okay to start games."
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O'Neill recently sat down with Iheanacho and reminded the former Manchester City frontman that, at 29 years old, he should be at the peak of his powers.
Sunday marked his first goal under the current Celtic manager – O'Neill will hope it can spark a timely scoring run.
"The manager has been good to everyone at the club," Iheanacho explained. "His management is really good, he speaks to everyone really well.
"Speaking with him gives me so much confidence to play in the games as well. So it's really good."
Iheanacho averages a goal every 117 minutes in the league this season. But his seven Premiership appearances – four of which have come from the start – suggest a player ravaged by myriad off-field struggles.
The physical toll of injuries is well documented, though mentally, helplessly watching on from the sidelines while his team-mates endured setback after setback was arduous, even for a player of Iheanacho's calibre.
"Obviously, when you're injured as a player, it's really difficult," he said. "Sometimes you could put your head down and all that.
"Obviously, you support your team, but it's really sad sometimes not getting on the pitch, contributing to the club that signed you.
"So it's really sad sometimes. But you just need to keep going and work hard to get your rehab done and get ready to come back stronger to help the team."
Time will define the significance of Iheanacho's Dens Park winner. As he made his way towards the tunnel post-match, the No. 17 basked in the acclaim of the travelling supporters whose title hopes just 20 minutes prior were in the proverbial dumps.
Iheanacho's loving it! 🍀 pic.twitter.com/5Kj9Qjy6vv
— The Celtic Way (@celticway1888) April 5, 2026
Celtic have struggled to find a reliable striker all season long. Does Iheanacho, if given a run of games, feel like he can be the man to fire his team to the league championship?
"Of course," he said, without hesitation. "Almost everyone is fit. We've got players coming back as well, so we've got a good squad to achieve that at the end of the season.
"So we just need to take it one game at a time and hopefully it will fall for us."
Iheanacho joined Celtic beyond last summer's transfer deadline. He signed a one-year deal, with the club holding the option to extend his contract by a further 12 months.
"I think in terms of that, we're literally focusing now on the games going forward," Iheanacho said. "Anything that concerns the contract will be maybe after the season, after we achieve our goals."
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