Mark Wilson has changed his mind on whether he believes that Leigh Griffiths has a future at Celtic. The former Celtic right-back, host of the excellent Celtic Huddle podcast and regular pundit on Clyde and Sky Sports has been speaking to Scottish Sun about the Griffiths situation which has come into full focus again this week with the player and his former manager Neil Lennon taking it in turn to appear on the BBC Euros Breakfast show to slaughter each other after the controversial and calamitous season that cost Lennon his job.
Photo: Andrew Milligan
There is no doubt that Griffiths is being held partly responsible for that and Lennon’s re-affirmation of the facts on the BBC yesterday do not paint Griffiths in any sort of decent light as a so-called professional footballer.
Yet he seems to survive these situations and keep himself involved at the club, even with the majority of Celtic fans – from polls run online – indicating that the striker is now more trouble than he is worth and should be shown the door.
Wilson thought the same at the end of last season and could just see no way that Eddie Howe would tolerate the Griffiths sideshow at Celtic. But Howe stayed on the south coast, Ange Postecoglou was appointed and there was the inevitable delay in the Australian travelling from Japan to get to Scotland with all the various protocols having been observed. Now Wilson reckons that Celtic’s new manager might just see the logic in keeping a tried and tested goalscorer around to help kick-start his own time in Scottish football as the Australian gets to grips with the game in Scotland.
No doubt Postecoglou will be asked about the Griffiths situation today at the fan media conference so we should have a better idea this afternoon where this story will go. According to Griffiths he has spoken to the New Celtic manager on the phone and the two are planning to meet now that Postecoglou is in Scotland to agree a deal that will keep Griffiths at Celtic.
“Leigh’s been giving his views over his situation in recent days. And I picked up on Neil Lennon responding strongly, having a go at him. The bottom line for me is Leigh will be very lucky to get another year at Celtic,” Wilson told Scottish Sun. “But I’m getting a feeling now the whole situation is going to benefit his chances of staying. Before the break-up in the summer, I went on record making it clear Leigh’s time at Celtic was up. I thought he’d gone through too many managers who, more or less, had come to the same opinion of him — with concerns over fitness.
“It just built up into last season which was Leigh’s biggest disaster; his downturn in form, his lack of fitness, didn’t just cost him but the team also. So, I didn’t think there would be any way back for him. I just didn’t think he merited a new contract.
“It was self-inflicted. A wonderful player, I’m a big fan, but he’d left the impression he couldn’t be trusted when it really mattered. To then trust him again — with the need for a full rebuild — would appear to be a big risk.
“In saying that, however, with the carry on at Celtic for long enough — the uncertainty over who the manager was going to be, players leaving, the amount of signings required — I’m actually thinking he could now stay.
Photo: Ian McNichol
“There’s a lot of positions up for grabs, uncertainty over top players such as Odsonne Edouard, it could make Postecoglou’s life a whole lot easier if they did give Griffiths another 12 months. Edouard could be out the door before Celtic even kick a ball in anger. That would leave Ange Postecoglou with a lack of striking options going into games during the summer — particularly in the Champions League qualifiers,” Wilson added.
“The current lack of a head of recruitment also doesn’t help the manager in trying to get signings completed early doors. Griffiths hasn’t been great for a while — but he still has a track record of scoring goals and that has always been the big thing in his favour through everything.
“It’s the one element of his game that leads to people giving him the benefit of the doubt. And it may well be the same for Postecoglou. He will know that Griffiths is a goal-scorer and it’s more about getting him to apply the right attitude.
Photo: Andrew Milligan
“Maybe a few months on that’s now swaying me from my original feeling over Griffiths. I just didn’t see Eddie Howe keeping him. I thought he would have grander plans for other strikers to come in.
“Howe not coming, though, then led to more uncertainty while it’s also taken Postecoglou time before he could even arrive in Glasgow.
“There’s so much talk of four or five players leaving to add to those already away after their loans finished so Griffiths could be the last one standing. That’s a possible advantage for him.”
