MUST DO BETTER
Rodgers says Griffiths needs to work harder for top billing
BRENDAN RODGERS has warned Leigh Griffiths he has to work harder to become the first-choice striker for Celtic and Scotland. The 28-year-old was omitted from the national team’s starting line-up for the Nations League win over Albania last week and said he felt like he had been ‘kicked in the teeth’ after Alex McLeish hinted that Steven Naismith would continue in attack against Israel next month. Now Rodgers, who is poised to start Odsonne Edouard up front in tonight’s Europa League visit of Rosenborg, says Griffiths (pictured left at training yesterday) has to add more to his game to become an automatic starter for club and country. ‘I was at the Albania game and I thought Steven Naismith was excellent,’ said the Celtic boss. ‘He worked his socks off and got two goals — you can’t complain with that. ‘Leigh knows his qualities but, at this stage
of his career, he now has to work tirelessly at all aspects of his game.
‘If you look at the evolution of strikers, it is not just about scoring goals any more, you have to do more than that.
‘With the big clubs you’re always going to be challenged. You can never think you are the No 1 striker. That’s the way it is.
‘Big clubs will always have options, you always have to fight to prove yourself every day in training and in every game.
‘If you don’t, and you drop off a level — whatever your fitness or preparation — there’s always someone else.
‘But I think what he’s done, and what he’s shown, is that he has the ability to score goals.
‘What he has to keep doing is keep working, keep fighting, so those opportunities come. That he’s fit and ready to take them.’
Griffiths signed a new fouryear contract before Celtic’s 0-0 draw with St Mirren in Paisley last Friday.
Warning the former Hibs star he can’t afford to rest on his laurels, however, Rodgers claimed he had only earned the right to train with the club — and that starting games will require more.
‘I think he’s great to have in our squad, that’s why we wanted to give him another deal. He’s an important member of the squad. We know he can score goals. But, like I say, at top teams it’s about more than that.
‘When you sign your deal, you sign a training contract. You sign to train the very hardest you possibly can. Prepare yourself physically and mentally the very best you can.
‘Lots of players I come across want to be the best they can be. So when I first come across them I ask: “Right, where are you at training?”
‘If you want to play with (Philippe) Coutinho, (Luis) Suarez and these types of guys, you need to be eight or nine out of ten every day in training.
‘If you think you can work at five or six out of ten then you’re not even ready to train with these guys, never mind play with them.
‘You have to have your training right up there to have a chance.
‘Whether you are Leigh Griffiths or anyone else, that is always the message to every player.’
Five goals in the opening five games of the SPFL season is Celtic’s worst scoring tally domestically since 1993-94.
Rodgers challenged his attackers to be more ruthless after blanks away from home against Hearts and St Mirren.
He played down the prospect of pairing Griffiths and Edouard, but admitted: ‘We need to be much more clinical in the final third.
‘My trust in the players is 150 per cent. Since I came here they’ve given us absolutely everything. They have been brilliant.
‘But we need to be a little more dynamic in the final third of the pitch. In the last four games we have kept clean sheets, we are sustaining pressure, and even with ten men the other night, lots of the game was played in the opponent’s half in the final third of the pitch. But we need more.’
Celtic enter another European game with problems in central defence after virus victim Kristoffer Ajer joined Jozo Simunovic on the sidelines.
Jack Hendry has returned to fitness for Celtic’s third game of the season against a Rosenborg side they beat 3-1 on aggregate in the second qualifying round of the Champions League. Admitting the Europa League is the right level for his team this campaign, Rodgers has set his sights on European football after Christmas.
‘We didn’t qualify for the Champions League this year because we weren’t good enough, circumstantial or not. ‘We want to be in Europe after Christmas. You want to be winning your home games then see what you can get away from home and that gives you a great chance to qualify.’