CELTIC v LINFIELD
Boss Bren backs under-fire hitman Griff
THERE’S no method of measuring just how much of a challenge it is to manage some players but if there was it could be perhaps called the Balotelli Scale.
For Brendan Rodgers there’s the bottom end, with players such as Steven Gerrard, who go about their business with the minimum of fuss and require the minimum of managerial involvement.
At the other end there’s good old Mario – who was off the chart when it came to driving a boss up the wall.
Rodgers dealt with opposite ends of the spectrum at Liverpool and it’s the same at Celtic.
Players such as Kieran Tierney don’t get summoned to the manager’s office too often but the Parkhead gaffer doesn’t have anyone in the same timezone as the Italian striker he had to keep tabs on at Anfield.
That includes Leigh Griffiths. Sure, Hoops hitman Griff can cause a bit of grief now and again and has been in the headlines a couple of times for things other than his uncanny knack of sticking the ball in the back of the net.
Rodgers has had to steer him on the straight and narrow whether it was about his attitude off the training pitch or spitting the dummy at being subbed. The Hoops boss is hardly spewing flames at Griffiths for tying a Celts scarf to the Windsor Park goalposts last week but he is a bit miffed one of his stars could be hit with a one-game ban for a moment of madness.
Rodgers won’t be too hard on his man though. He warned Griff to screw the nut as it could cost him his place.
But the gaffer doesn’t want the striker to lose too much of his devilish side and admitted there’s nothing the Scotland man could do that would force him to show him the door.
Rodgers said: “I have seen the stories many times but I wouldn’t even bother writing it – he is not one I would ever want to lose here.
“I cannot see him ever doing anything that would make me push him out.
“I support him off the field and on the field. I help him and coach him along with the staff to make him better. “He has that devilment, which is great. That is what you want but it always has to be controlled.
“You have to be in control, you have to make yourself available, living your life right and doing all the things it takes to be a top footballer otherwise you get left behind. I really like Leigh. There have been so many instances and last season I kept hearing he was on his way out.
“Everyone makes mistakes and will have their wee issues. If it gets to the point where it is disruptive to what I am doing and ultimately to the team’s ambition then I would cut straight away but it is never that.
“He is a really good boy. He has issues and challenges, professionally and personally. But I have found him a really good man who wants to play football and score goals.”
Griffiths might be high maintenance – but he’s worth it.
Rodgers said: “Some players will come in here for pre-season and you shake their hand then you shake their hand on the way back out again at the end of the season. They are super low maintenance, there is no drama, no problem.
“There are other players who are higher maintenance. What I have learned and gained experience in as a manager is that the starting point is different for every player.
“You have to judge the individual player. What I think of them personally and professionally would be totally different. I am paid to be the manager of Celtic and that means putting out a winning team that can play the level of football I want. I tend to deal with individual players and some give you more issues than others.
“That is what you’re going to get when you have 25 footballers full of testosterone and they have different levels of control.”
Rodgers reckons Griffiths – an injury doubt to face Linfield in the return tonight – has improved in the last 12 months.
The Hoops boss said: “He loves it and I love having him here. I am always going to need at least two top strikers here.
“He is a remarkable talent. He is as good a finisher as you’ll see, how he hits the ball, how he works his positions.
“Last year he became a better player. He is working at his talent and learning it is not just about the talent.”
Griffiths might miss out but Rodgers is keen to get the job finished this evening.
There’s a sense it has been a pain he could have done without, from Buckie bottles to UEFA probes and the reminder some people in his homeland haven’t quite joined the rest of the nation in the 21st century.
It’s unthinkable his side will slip up with a 2-0 first-leg lead, even if David Healy’s men will make life awkward.
Rodgers said: “On Friday they were having to keep the score down. We’ve had that here in the league as well, where 2-0 is the new win. They did very well but for us it’s a case of go and get the job done.”