McLeish makes bold Giakoumakis claim in Rangers/Celtic title twist
Alex McLeish has suggested the arrival of Georgios Giakoumakis could give Celtic the firepower to push Rangers for the Premiership title.
The former Gers boss, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, admitted there have been questions over whether the Bhoys had the “ammunition” to stop Steven Gerrard’s men running away in the title race.
Giakoumakis, 26, scored his first goal for Celtic in last weekend’s 2-0 win over St Johnstone.
It was the summer signing’s first start for the Bhoys after returning from injury.
Celtic relied heavily on the goals of fellow new arrival Kyogo Furuhashi early this season.
However, McLeish insisted the Hoops have a lot more in their armoury to challenge Rangers now.
Asked if Giakoumakis could take the pressure off Kyogo, McLeish told Football Insider’s Russell Edge: “Well, absolutely.
“Over the past few weeks and months, everybody’s been questioning if Celtic are going to have the power or the ammunition to stop Rangers from winning the title again.
“Some people were saying that they should win it easy. Now that Celtic are on a pretty good run, they’re on a good run of confidence.
“Giakoumakis, he looks a lively person, a very lively centre-forward. A little bit of acrobatics in front of goal which he narrowly missed against Motherwell.
“He definitely looks the part. Taking the pressure off Kyogo with Jota, he looks terrific too. Giakoumakis, for all intents and purposes, looks a real centre-forward.
“When you see a player in his first game for his club and you see some things, you think he’s made an instant impact. I felt that with him.”
Giakoumakis has made five appearances for the Bhoys, all but one of which have come as a substitute.
In other news, new Celtic hire hailed by pundit after Mikey Johnston’s rave review.