Out-of-form Hearts held Steven Gerrard’s Rangers to a 1-1 draw in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday, which meant that Celtic kept their place at the top of the table.
Neil McCann has blasted reported Celtic target Uche Ikpeazu for only turning up for Old Firm games after he produced a strong showing for Hearts during their 1-1 draw with Rangers on Sunday at Tynecastle.
The BBC Sport pundit stated that it ‘angers’ him that players like Ikpeazu only turn up for matches against Celtic and Rangers, or big derby matches, as he questioned his application in other matches.
Whilst Ikpeazu didn’t get on the scoresheet against Steven Gerrard’s side, he was his usual best as he used himself as a battering ram against the opposition defence.
Speaking to Sportsound on BBC Radio Scotland (20/10/2019 at 2:25 pm), first Billy Dodds shared his thoughts on why Ikpeazu likes the ‘big stage’, as McCann ripped into him for not turning up for the so-called lesser matches.
“He knows it’s a big stage, doesn’t he?!” Dodds told Sportsound. “He gets himself fired up for it and not that he doesn’t for other games. He will just rough people up when he’s not scoring.
“For certain games, the stage is there and he seems to get himself so focused that he wants to be the match-winner. And although he didn’t score today and Hearts didn’t win the game, you can see why he does well in these big games. He just wants to do well against top-quality opposition. He’s got the technique, as well and directness. He had a good game.
McCann added: “Touching on why he plays so well against the big sides, he has to ask the question to himself. Why am I showing up against the big sides and not showing up against the lesser teams? And that’s application. It shouldn’t just take you playing against the big sides or a derby because that’s you doing a disservice to your club and your teammates.
“But that’s not good enough to just think the TV cameras are here, the Old Firm and I can get myself in the shop window and show how good I am. That’s rubbish. It angers you as a manager and as a coach.”
There’s no doubt that Ikpeazu has produced his best performances when coming up against Celtic or Rangers, as a potential move to Parkhead could be on the cards.
West London Sport recently claimed that Celtic are keen to secure the services of the Hearts hitman, who will only impress his potential suitors even more with performances such as the one he put in on Sunday.
In the meantime, Ikpeazu will be hoping to drag Hearts out of the current mess they find themselves in as they have started the new campaign in a pretty poor fashion.
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