Charlie Mulgrew has said that Celtic should offer Leigh Griffiths a new deal, if they can get him fit. Mulgrew, who was Celtic teammates with the striker, said that Griffiths may have an added bit of motivation this weekend in the Glasgow Derby against Rangers as he tries to prove his worth to the club. Speaking to Sky Sports, Mulgrew said that if a manager can get Griffiths fit, ‘it is a no brainer’ to keep him at the club.
“You might get an extra bit of motivation from Leigh because he is coming into the last year of his contract if Celtic take up the option.
“If a manager can get the arm around him and get him scoring, a fit Leigh Griffiths is worth his weight in gold.
“Get him fit, get him striking and you know how big confidence is in football. Get him confident and get him scoring goals. I think it is a no-brainer.”
There is a lot of emphasis from Mulgrew here about the manager getting Griffiths fit. The player needs to want to get himself fit. Griffiths has had some very public fitness concerns under three managers – Deila, Rodgers and Lennon and at some point there needs to be a line drawn. With that said, Griffiths is a goalscorer – a frustrating thing considering his fitness issues – which means that he can add a guarantee of ten goals a season. He is maybe not a first choice striker at Celtic anymore but he could very well be useful to keep about – as seen by his late equaliser in Aberdeen last week.
Griffiths was given a boost as UEFA confirmed that participants could bring squads of 26 to the European Championships this summer, up from 23. This means that players on the periphery of Steve Clarke’s plans (like Griffiths and Turnbull) could find themselves in the squad.
Mulgrew thinks that Scotland need a player like Griffiths in their squad, owing to his goalscoring prowess.
“Also, if I was Scotland I would get him in the squad somehow for the Euros.
“He’s a goalscorer and you saw what he did against England the last time and he turns up for the big occasions.
“He is somebody that I would want in my squad and somebody I would want to get the best out of.”
The 30-year-old has endured a poor season after a very public issue with his fitness at the beginning of the campaign. The player has undoubted quality but fitness concerns have been highly disruptive for the club not being able to call upon a player that can, on his day, turn a game on its head.
Griffiths has scored five goals this season in eighteen appearances. The striker’s scoring record of 123 goals in 257 appearances represents an incredible return for the £800k paid to Wolves in 2014. The club need to make a decision on whether to retain Griffiths for another season or to allow him to leave for free.
