Kelechi Iheanacho is determined to stay fit and fire Celtic to the league title over the final few weeks of the season.
Iheanacho has been plagued by injury problems since joining the Parkhead club on a free transfer at the end of last summer’s window.
But the 29-year-old Nigeria international came off the bench yesterday to score a vital late winner against Dundee at Dens Park.
The 2-1 victory saw Martin O’Neill’s side keep alive their Premiership title hopes as they closed the gap on leaders Hearts to just three points with six games left to play.
It was a tidy finish from Iheanacho – and he is confident that he could yet play a pivotal role in the run-in for the reigning champions.
‘It felt good to get the win for the team,’ he said. ‘Collectively, we really worked hard, in the first half especially, to get the win. So it feels good. Hopefully there are many more points to come.
Kelechi Iheanacho says he is ready to play his part in the title run-in after an injury-hit season
Iheanacho’s late winner against Dundee meant Celtic moved to within three points of Hearts
Celtic boss Martin O’Neill has boosted the confidence of Iheanacho and his team-mates
‘Yeah, I’m sure I’m fit to start games. Obviously it’s up to the manager to pick who he wants to start the games. But I’m really sure I’m perfectly okay to start games.
‘When you’re injured as a player, it’s obviously really difficult. Sometimes you could put your head down and all that.
‘Obviously, you still support your team, but it’s really sad sometimes not getting on the pitch, contributing to the club that signed you.
‘So it’s really sad sometimes. But you just need to keep going and work hard to get your rehab done and get ready to come back stronger to help the team.
‘Yeah, I feel like I can do that now. Almost everyone is fit. We’ve got players coming back as well, so we’ve got a good squad to achieve that at the end of the season.
‘We just need to take it one game at a time and hopefully it will fall for us.’
O’Neill admitted that it would have been extremely difficult for Celtic in the title race had they slipped up at Dundee.
But Iheanacho’s late winner, adding to a first-half goal from Yang Hyun-jun, gave them a deserved victory on the day.
It was a much-improved performance, particularly in the first half. Determined to build on it, Iheanacho added: ‘It was really massive for the team, where we are in the table, close to the top, so it’s massive.
‘It would have been scary to drop points because it would have been hard for the rest of the season. It was a great finish so I’m happy.
‘It’s massive. We need to keep winning to get to the end. Obviously, it’s not been great for the past few weeks but I think we showed character, discipline and togetherness to win the game. So it’s important.
‘The manager has been good to everyone at the club. His management is really good, he speaks to everyone really well. Speaking with him gives me so much confidence to play in the game as well. So it’s really good.’
Having only signed a one-year deal after arriving last summer, Iheanacho is out of contract at the end of the season.
But he insists that any talk of his future will only be resolved come the end of the campaign, adding: ‘I think in terms of that, we’re focusing now on the games going forward.
‘Anything that concerns the contract will be maybe after the season, after we achieve our goals.’
