When Martin O’Neill named his starting lineup for Celtic’s crucial clash at Tannadice, one inclusion immediately raised eyebrows.
Throwing Kelechi Iheanacho straight back into the Celtic attack out of nowhere was a massive gamble by the legendary boss.
Given the odd situation surrounding the Nigerian international in recent weeks and months, it was a decision that carried significant risk.
Unfortunately for O’Neill, that gamble spectacularly backfired against Dundee United. Iheanacho looked completely off the pace throughout his time on the pitch. He offered zero pressing intensity, failed to link up with a broken midfield, and further proved why he shouldn’t have started.
All of this comes after 67 Hail Hail, at the start of March, called for Celtic and O’Neill to never use Iheanacho again.
Should Martin O’Neill take some of the blame for the loss to Dundee United?
Why is Kelechi Iheanacho still playing games for Celtic?
Celtic beat Aberdeen on March 4, with Iheanacho not even in the matchday squad, and O’Neill stating that his fitness is ‘a bit of a concern.’
At the time, Chris Sutton called out the situation and stated that it’s all ‘odd’, and then weeks later, he is starting, out of nowhere, against Dundee United and producing a very poor performance.
The issue here with Iheanacho isn’t the fact that he isn’t good enough; he is perhaps head and shoulders above the rest of Celtic’s strikers in terms of quality and skill set.
But the major issue here is Iheanacho’s fitness situation, and how months after returning from injury, and signing for the Hoops in the summer on a free, he still can’t be ready and available from a physical standpoint.
Martin O’Neill must take the blame
From Reo Hatate going in at right-back to the call on Iheanacho, whilst O’Neill isn’t to blame for the mess Celtic are in, he has to take responsibility for what happened against Dundee United.
Celtic would be better off with Daizen Maeda or Benjamin Nygren as a central striker; at least there is effort there, even if the quality with Maeda is lacking.
It’s very frustrating that O’Neill has trusted a player who has looked so noticeably disconnected from the rest of the squad, and that faith has hit him back in the face.
As the dust settles on Celtic’s defeat to Dundee United, O’Neill must surely recognise that the Iheanacho experiment has definitively failed.
For the sake of the remaining campaign and Celtic’s title chances, this must be the final time the forward leads the line for the champions of Scotland.
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