The Celtic striker conundrum O'Neill is 'not sure' about

Martin O'Neill's Celtic face St Mirren this afternoon. <i>(Image: Mark Runnacles / Shutterstock)</i>
Martin O'Neill's Celtic face St Mirren this afternoon. (Image: Mark Runnacles / Shutterstock)
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Celtic manager Martin O'Neill remains unsure whether to start Kelechi Iheanacho or use the striker as an impact substitute.

Iheanacho came off the bench came off the bench to score the winner for his side at Dens Park last Sunday.

A fortnight prior, the Nigerian started across the road against Dundee United but could only muster 57 minutes in a 2-0 defeat.

O'Neill remains unsure about what to do.

"I’ve been told even before my time that if he [Iheanacho] wasn’t playing then he’d be up in the stand supporting," the Celtic manager said on Friday. "Which is nice, because if he was anything like I was, then he’d be massively disappointed not to be involved.

"You saw him last Sunday. He was up kicking every ball, desperate to get on. He did he made an impact, which is great.

"He is fired up. I said to him, at 29 he should be at the peak of his career. He tells me he is at the peak of his career, which is a bit of a concern for me!

"But he should be. He’s got a lot of natural ability. You can see it in training, he’s terrific, you can see why he’s been a player at a club like Manchester City.

"He’ll be on the pitch at some stage [today against St Mirren], and he’s earned it. It’s something we’re not sure [about] because there’s a decent chance he wouldn’t last the game. He claims he would, but we’ll see.

"If he stays fit between now and the end of the season, we’ll need him."


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O'Neill and Celtic are relying on Iheanacho because Tomas Cvancara has been misfiring of late. The Czech striker could have had a hat-trick in last Sunday's win over Dundee.

"Eventually centre forwards have to live and die by the number of goals they score," O'Neill said. "He [Cvancara] missed two or three chances, one he would have scored if he was full of confidence. I think a few weeks earlier he would have taken them.

"He was unlucky with one that hit the post, the one after half time was the one that looked a lack of confidence with the touch that got away from him.

"I wouldn’t say Iheanacho is an overconfident player, but he knows how to deal with the ball. A goal might spark Tomas [Cvancara] in that sense.

"There were parts of his game I was pleased about. Even though he’s not an out-and-out centre forward, we’ve been playing him in that position, and he’s attempted to get hold of the ball like Iheanacho can do.

"They [strikers] do need that arrogance because it can be a lonely position if you are not putting the ball in the net.

"But in terms of the strikers I had previously, it wasn’t really an issue as they didn’t go very long without putting the ball in the net."

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