Martin O’Neill is preparing to unleash Kelechi Iheanacho in the title run-in after the forward rode to Celtic’s rescue against St Mirren.
Pegged back at 2-2 in the Scottish Cup semi-final, the Parkhead side sealed a date with Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline on May 23 by scoring four goals in a six-minute burst in the first period of extra-time.
Introduced on 81 minutes, the Nigerian claimed two of those to again underscore his credentials.
Signed as a free agent last summer after leaving Sevilla, Iheanacho has been beset by injury troubles.
But with five defining league games remaining plus a return to Hampden now beckoning, O’Neill feels the forward is approaching the point where he can start matches.
“I couldn’t disagree with that,’ he said. ‘Obviously, he’s had the few injury problems. I think I said to you that sometimes if you felt as if he started the games, he might not see the game through. We’ve got a couple like that at the moment.
Iheanacho celebrates scoring Celtic’s fifth goal in the Scottish Cup semi-final against St Mirren
Martin O’Neill shakes hands with his St Mirren counterpart, Craig McLeish, after the shootout
Dunfermline boss Neil Lennon was at Hampden to see who his team would play in the final
‘Today his goals have been big for us. Really big. He says he is completely fit. And I’m not completely sure, but he was brilliant for us. He took the goals magnificently. You can see why he’s had a career.’
O’Neill is now savouring the prospect of going head-to-head with his former Celtic skipper Lennon in what’s likely to be his final game as a manager.
Lennon’s Championship side booked their place in the final after defeating Falkirk on penalties.
‘I’ve just done an interview with him – he’s doing some punditry work. Gosh, he gets everywhere,’ he smiled.
‘But he has done remarkably well. He did brilliantly for me at Leicester and at Celtic. And I think I mentioned to you on Friday, he’s done brilliantly at Dunfermline. What an effort yesterday. So, when the time comes, I look forward to it.’
The reunion looked in doubt when Saints hit back from two goals down to level through Mikael Mandron’s double.
O’Neill felt his side deserved huge praise for mentally resetting and getting the job done in extra time.
“Obviously I’m relieved to have won the game,’ he said.
‘But I’ve got a lot of pride about the side, in the way they focused in extra time. With St Mirren scoring so late on to equalise, they are in the psychological ascendancy.
‘For us to retrieve that situation, in the manner in which we did, gives the team confidence, which is great. And it gives us all renewed energy.’
O’Neill conceded, though, that his side have to learn from the manner in which they lost their way in the second half.
‘If you win, that’s what it’s all about,’ he stressed. ‘I think that we’re capable of being more dynamic.
‘The one thing that I can’t deny the team and that is a really great spirit there to fight through that adversity – having the game taken away from them in one aspect, and then to come really roaring back.’
O’Neill feels the performance of James Forrest from the bench underscored why the club should be looking at handing him a contract to stay on for another season.
Set to turn 35 in July, it was the veteran’s cross which allowed Iheanacho to put Celtic back in front.
‘I would like to keep James for one more year, at least, so that he could see his career through at the football club. I would be asking the board,’ he said.
‘With just a little burst in the one-v-ones, he has changed a number of games for us.
‘Neil Lennon was telling me that he is just, which I’ve known now for two or three months, that he really is a proper lad.’
Meanwhile, St Mirren interim manager Craig McLeish admits he might consider bringing in an emergency loan goalkeeper.
With Shamal George injured and spotted at Hampden wearing a moon boot, back-up Ryan Mullen lasted only 15 minutes before coming off with a thigh issue.
It left 17-year-old Grant Tamosevicius to make his competitive debut from the bench.
‘That’s something we might need to look at and assess,’ McLeish said.
‘There’s no issue with trying to force Ryan to stay on the pitch and play through an injury. Grant’s our back-up goalkeeper today.
‘He has to be ready. We have to do that as a club. Our young ones have to be ready to step in when they’re required.
‘Again, other than that period and extra time, I thought he equipped himself very well.’
McLeish felt his side deserved enormous credit for taking Celtic all the way when they looked out of the running at half-time.
He said: ‘First of all, I’m so proud of the group with how they went about large parts of the game today… to lose a goal in the manner we did right at the start of the game, to then lose a goalkeeper early on in the game.
‘I thought we reacted well to that. We settled after the first 15-20 minutes or so. Losing the goal on half-time is an absolute hammer blow for us.
‘We had to regroup at half-time. I thought our second-half performance was excellent. We made some changes towards the end of the game to get back into it.
‘We brought some more attacking players on the pitch. We changed shape. That allowed us to take it to extra time and we’re hoping to continue that momentum and ride that on into extra time.
‘I think if in the 90 minutes, if there’s an extra 5-10 minutes, we were the team in the ascendancy at that point.
‘The risk to make those changes and get back into the game probably then catches out in extra time. We’re then a little bit open.
‘We’ve got some more attack-minded players on the pitch. Celtic’s quality, the substitutions they bring on, the quality they can add to it, ultimately, they blew us away in that first spell of extra time, which was disappointing from our point of view.’
