Frank McAvennie has heavily criticised Kelechi Iheanacho’s physical condition, as his blunt assessment highlights a situation that simply cannot be normalised at Celtic.
Reacting to the striker coming out of the blue to start against Dundee United, McAvennie did not hold back regarding Iheanacho’s situation at Celtic.
“I was glad to see Iheanacho back at the weekend, but after half an hour he died a death,” McAvennie stated.
“He was knackered and should not have been on. I hope he’s getting battered during this international break… To be fair to the boy, he was a bit overweight when he arrived.”
Iheanacho returned from injury in January, but he has been frustratingly in and out of the matchday squad, as the Hoops battled on all fronts, including the Premiership, the Scottish Cup and the Europa League.
Previously, Martin O’Neill didn’t pull any punches and stated that the forward’s fitness has been a ‘concern’, which summed up the player’s situation at the club, given that the season is nearly coming to an end.
Should Celtic hand Kelechi Iheanacho a new contract?
Martin O’Neill told to put Kelechi Iheanacho through his paces over the March international break
Iheanacho undoubtedly possesses top-level quality, after he represented the likes of Manchester City and Leicester City in the Premier League during his career.
However, the 29-year-old wasn’t exactly welcomed with open arms in Glasgow. The 2025 summer transfer had slammed shut, Celtic had made an absolute mess of everything, and weren’t going to be playing in the Champions League.
Then in stepped Iheanacho on a free, after previously working with Brendan Rodgers at Leicester, and he, on occasions, showcased why he has played at the top, top level.
But his conditioning has been a disgrace. He is a massive part of the problem regarding Celtic’s continued striker woes and perfectly sums up the disjointed mess at Parkhead this season.
Despite this unacceptable fitness, O’Neill is bound to use him after the March international break, largely because everyone else around him is proving useless.
Either way, come the summer, he will surely leave and not extend his stay at Celtic, as McAvennie told The Daily Record what would have happened to him had he acted like Iheanacho in his day.
“I was glad to see Iheanacho back at the weekend,” said McAvennie. “But after half an hour, he died a death.
“I was thinking I couldn’t have done that when I played. Bobby Lennox would have taken me for training on my own, going on runs, and he wouldn’t have played me until I lasted at least an hour.
“Iheanacho was good for 30 minutes, but then all of a sudden nothing. He was knackered and should not have been on. I hope he’s getting battered during this international break; someone is running him around Strathclyde Park or doing something he’s not done before to get the lungs open.
“It didn’t do us any harm back then, and we were fitter than any team in the league. To be fair to the boy, he was a bit overweight when he arrived, and he played a few games.
“That would have done him good at the weekend, but I’m hoping he does a few shifts and the next time he can last an hour or more. When he’s out there, he’s done alright.”
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
