KICK IN THE TEETH
Griffiths vows to prove McLeish was wrong to drop him
LEIGH GRIFFITHS has vowed to win over Scotland manager Alex McLeish — after news of Steven Naismith’s likely selection in Israel came as ‘a kick in the teeth’ to the Celtic striker.
Hot on the heels of extending his scoring streak to eight goals in nine matches against Albania, McLeish told the Hearts striker he was all but assured of a starting place in the next Nations League match in Haifa on October 11.
Griffiths was replaced by Naismith midway through the recent 4-0 defeat by Belgium at Hampden and had to wait until the 70th minute to feature against Albania when he came on as a replacement for Sporting Kansas City’s Johnny Russell.
Expressing his surprise that McLeish had made no secret of the fact he was already leaning towards Naismith as the man to start in Israel, Griffiths says he’s determined to make the national boss the latest in a long line of managers he has proved wrong.
‘I was a bit surprised to see he (McLeish) has already selected him for the next game,’ said Griffiths. ‘But that’s his choice. If he wants to make that call, it’s fine. I’ll
be working harder at my club to prove him wrong, and to try to get back into the team. ‘You just need to take these things on the chin. I’ve had setbacks with Scotland before, this is another one. ‘I’ll just go away now and work even harder on my game to make sure I am on top form the next time the internationals come around. I have been doubted my whole life — but I keep on shooting people down. It seems that every season I have to prove people wrong. ‘I do my talking on the pitch, that means doing well for Celtic and putting the ball into the back of the net regularly.’ Asked specifically about McLeish’s comments on Naismith — ‘It will be hard to say that I’m not playing him now’ — the 28-year-old Griffiths added: ‘It’s a real kick in the teeth — and not just for me but for all the strikers. However, it is an incentive to work hard at our clubs and try to change his mind.’ Griffiths, who signed an extended deal with Celtic until 2022 on Friday, admitted that he didn’t perform to his full capacity against Belgium but felt the four goals he’s scored to date in dark blue merited him another start. ‘I wouldn’t say I did enough, certainly not against Belgium anyway,’ he conceded. ‘It was always going to be hard against that class of opponent. ‘I was surprised as well (not to start). But these things happen. Naisy came in and did really well. He scored, ran about, and did his job.’