Hoops manager Martin O'Neill has defended his decision to leave Kelechi Iheanacho out of the starting line-up for Celtic's ongoing clash with St Mirren on Saturday, citing concerns over the striker's fitness.

The Nigeria international has struggled with fitness problems since joining the Premiership champions last September,  a setback that has seen him miss 21 league matches.

However, he came off the bench to score a crucial winner for Celtic in their last outing before the visit of St Mirren.

Against the Saints this afternoon, Martin O'Neill chose to retain Tomáš Čvančara in the centre-forward role, leaving Iheanacho among the substitutes.

Explaining his rationale behind the decision, the Celtic coach revealed that the Nigerian forward is not yet ready to complete a full match, despite his impact from the bench in the 2-1 win at Dundee last weekend.

In quotes relayed by the BBC, O'Neill said: "It's as much to do with fitness as anything else.

"He came on [last week] and made a big, big difference to us. It was a case of maybe if he started he wouldn't last the game so Tomas Cvancara stays at centre forward. 

"At least we know of the substitutions we have, they can make a difference as well."

Celtic led 1-0 as at the half-hour mark, thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's low finish into the far corner. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel