GREEN WITH ENVY
Rodgers: Rivals are jealous of brilliant Broony... he reminds me of Suarez
BRENDAN RODGERS insists there is sheer envy among rivals towards Scott Brown as he stood up for his skipper in the wake of the shocking Andrew Davies stamp. Brown has been the victim
LEIGH GRIFFITHS wants to make Scotland’s trip to Peru and Mexico and scale fresh heights with Celtic having revealed his chronic calf issues could be over.
The Parkhead striker can’t wait to play his part for club and country through the final two months of the season after recovering from his latest injury setback.
Griffiths is in contention for a place in tonight’s clash with Dundee having returned as a sub for last weekend’s win over Ross County.
That comeback came at the end of another frustrating absence of eight weeks.
Not for the first time, calf issues sidelined him.
Griffiths has struggled with the problems which he admits have hindered him throughout the past couple of years, yet he now feels the end is in sight after a precise diagnosis found the cure.
He said: “The specialist identified straight away where it was coming from and how we can rectify that.
“It is all to do with my hips. My hips, the muscle tissue, were so blocked that my calves and my hamstrings were doing double the workload.
“I wasn’t getting the full range of my movement. That is why my calves were going either side.
“Hopefully now that has been released and the muscles are flowing again, I will be back sharper with more movement.”
Given that Griffiths has BY CRAIG SWAN previously been restricted, it’s not unreasonable to think his best years might still be to come. Which is quite an exciting thought.
Last year alone he won a treble, made the Scotland No.9 shirt his own with four strikes and bagged goals in the Champions League. This, apparently, with a lack of free movement.
It’s inspiring for Griffiths going forward as he said: “That was the most frustrating thing.
“I am feeling good, playing well, scoring goals, helping the team and then suddenly, bang, they go and I am out for three or four weeks at a time.
“Obviously it was a bit longer this time but I am hoping is it done now and I can move forward.”
Celtic are potentially just three wins from a seventh successive Premiership title while back-to-back victories at Hampden in the Scottish Cup will provide a second straight treble.
Griffiths is also just three short of 100 goals for Celtic and he’s relishing the upcoming weeks. He said: “I have hopefully got 10 games to go to reach that goal mark.
“If I get a good run in the team I’ll have time to hit that before the end of the season.
“Being fully fit, you don’t want to miss out on games.
“Three of us are vying for one position. At times we have gone two up front but mostly it’s one.
“I’m selfish. I’m a striker. I want to score goals and be in the team but it’s up to the manager to pick the team and whoever gets the starting slot will be deserving of it.
“It is an exciting part of the season to be involved in. The semi-final against Rangers is going to be massive for us but we need to win our next two league games before that to put us in good stead for the title.” Griffiths also has his eyes on that Scotland trip at the end of the season as he added: “That is my aim. With the amount of football I have missed this season I don’t think it would be a problem to get the extra minutes under my belt. “Obviously they are two difficult games but they are exciting ones as well. “The travelling is a bit of a nightmare but I would be able to come back and still get a decent rest before we start pre-season. “I have not spoken to Alex McLeish or my manager here about it. As the season draws closer to an end hopefully we will sit down and have a chat. “If Mr McLeish got on the phone to me and explained he was wanting me for the summer friendlies and that I was going to get game time I’d be delighted to go.” Meanwhile, Griffiths insists captain Scott Brown isn’t affected by the furore over the horror tackle by Andrew Davies on Saturday.
He said: “Are you joking? You saw what happened at Aberdeen, he loves it.
“He goes in to win the ball and make sure the opponent knows he’s not in for an easy game. You don’t want tackling banned but what happened to Broony last weekend was OTT.”