Chris Sutton, who knows himself from first hand experience, what it means to be a centre forward for Celtic, has been one of Leigh Griffiths fiercest critics over the past few years as the goalscorer failed to get himself fit enough to do the job he was capable of for Sutton’s old team.
His transfer day loan move to Dundee came as a surprise to no-one, particularly as in typical Griffiths fashion, he managed to leak an image of himself wearing the Dens Park club’s dark blue jersey ahead of any announcement from either club. And since moving to Dundee Griffiths has been talking about how he sees his goalscoring exploits for the Taysiders as being a route back to playing for Celtic, where as he points out, he remains under contract.
But he’s at Dundee on a season long loan and his contract at Celtic runs out next summer. It’s going to take something quite remarkable to get Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou and the club’s shrewd CEO Dom Mckay to make Griffiths another offer come June 2022. Sutton for one certainly doesn’t see that happening.
Writing in his Daily Record column this morning Sutton, yet again, turns his attention to Leigh Griffiths to talk through his thoughts on what’s happened, and the former Hoops hero can certain see no way back for Griffiths at Celtic after all that has happened. “One thing I’m more sure about is that Leigh Griffiths’ time at the club has come to an end.
“I know he said he still thinks he has a future at Celtic but with a move to Dundee and his contract up in the summer, I just can’t see it,” Sutton said.
“Griffiths getting an extension this year was a strange one, getting a new deal in 12 months would be even more surprising regardless of what he does at Dundee. He had a bit of a dig at Neil Lennon on his way out of Parkhead and you know what, I can actually see both sides. I get Lennon battering him for not pulling his weight. But I can also see the other side, as it’s the manager’s job to make sure his players are doing what’s necessary.
I know Griffiths thinks I’ve had it in for him as well as everyone else, but I’ve said it a million times, I like him as a player. Any criticism from me has been because I knew he could have done better.
“It’s time for him to do his talking on the pitch now and show James McPake he means business. We’ve heard it all before but who knows, maybe this time the penny will drop.
I suspect the ship will have sailed for him at Celtic though and Postecoglou is pushing ahead with his plans for the club. Griffiths looks to be in the past at Parkhead but the major changes to the squad have given fans reasons to be optimistic for the future,” Sutton concluded.
