Chris Sutton has virtually pleaded with Leigh Griffiths to sort out his fitness issues and fire Celtic back into the title race.
The striker has started just two matches this season but is probably the most discussed player in Neil Lennon’s squad.
From being left out of the pre-season plans due to his Lockdown ‘lapses’ to glimpses of the past with goals from the bench the former Hibs striker has never been far from the centre of attention.
This year alone Patryk Klimala and Albian Ajeti have been bought to take his place but a week away from going to Ibrox it is Griffiths that most Celtic fans ae investing their hopes in.
Goals against Hearts and Ross County in the last week have provided reminders of what he is capable of with Sutton hoping that a long productive scoring run is about to get underway.
Discussing Griffiths various issues Sutton told Daily Record readers:
I’m not going to take a bat to someone every week for the same mistake. It’s gone. It’s about the here and now but when Neil said during the week that Griffiths was still not ready for a full 90 minutes, that he could be doing more on the training pitch and that the player may disagree, it made my heart sink.
If your manager tells you that you need to do more, you do it. Simple. I don’t care what your own feelings on the matter are. It’s the same in any walk of life. If your gaffer tells you to do something, you do it. That’s it. It’s not a debate. I only get annoyed with Griffiths at times because I rate him so highly.
Look at the two goals he has scored in the past six days. His finish in extra-time of the Scottish Cup Final against Hearts was all about speed of mind, agility and anticipation. Brilliant.
He had a couple of chances before scoring against Ross County, but kept putting himself in correct positions to deliver and his header to get onto the scoresheet was executed perfectly and textbook.
Griffiths is a sublime finisher and scores all types of goals. The fact he now has 120 for the club is an outstanding statistic. That takes some doing and it must be so frustrating for Neil that he can’t count on him all of the time because the talent is unquestioned.
Some of those frustrations could be released with three wins in the next eight days to breath fresh life into the title challenge.
