Martin O’Neill’s fitness update on Kelechi Iheanacho could give the Celtic boss an option to change his tactics against Aberdeen at Pittodrie.
The Celtic boss hinted Iheanacho could play in the vital Scottish Premiership clash at Pittodrie after O’Neill said the Nigerian may be available for selection.
When asked if Iheanacho could feature at Aberdeen, O’Neill told The Celtic Way, “It is possible. When I finish here, we’ve just finished the training, so I’ll just go and see how people are at this minute.
“But yes, anything’s possible. The way we played first half (against Rangers), anything is possible.”
Iheanacho has proven to be an excellent ball-holding target man and he could offer an extra dimension that O’Neill could use tonight in Celtic’s fixture against Aberdeen.
The tactic switch Martin O’Neill could use vs Aberdeen.
Thoughts on Kelechi Iheanacho returning to the Celtic starting XI?
The 4-2-3-1 Martin O’Neill could adopt for Celtic vs Aberdeen
What Celtic’s draw at Rangers showed at the weekend was that the Bhoys not only lacked a physical and goal threat up front, there was no outball the team could focus on to alleviate the pressure the Ibrox side was laying on.
Having Iheanacho as a sort-of number 10 with Daizen Maeda through the middle means that the Nigerian can either hold the ball up and wait for support, or produce neat flick-ons the Japanese forward could get on to the end of with his electric pace.
While we appreciate that Aberdeen will not offer the same threat as Rangers, using this tactic now could offer O’Neill another option as the Celtic manager moves into the top-six split where he will face Hearts and Rangers again.
Cvancara has been a decent addition to the squad, but in a straight choice between the two, Iheanacho is a far better and more reliable option for O’Neill to use if the striker is fully fit.
If not, this tactic could be used later in the game if Celtic need to fashion a goal, or simply hold onto a slim lead.
Dane Murray retains his Celtic starting space after redeeming himself vs Rangers
The other big bone of contention was the defensive options O’Neill has heading into the Pittodrie fixture.
With Auston Trusty still banned, Dane Murray or Benjamin Arthur are the only two choices the Celtic boss has to pick from.
Despite his first half horror show against Rangers, Murray gets the nod after he put in a sterling second-half performance to help Celtic’s fightback at Ibrox.
The young defender has quality, all Murray needs to do is iron out his mistakes and he could be a fine Celtic player.
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