Griffiths is a goalscoring phenomenon ... but he still needs to improve his fitness
LENNON URGES STRIKER TO DIG DEEP AND GIVE HIM MORE
FIVE months after an unfit Leigh Griffiths was warned he was standing in the lastchance saloon, the controversial striker repaid Neil Lennon’s faith in him by helping Celtic serve up a quadruple Treble.
On Sunday, the 30-year- old’s first- ever cup final goal for the Parkhead club was followed by a successful conversion from the spot as Hearts were beaten 4-3 on penalties after a classic 3-3 Hampden draw.
Lennon was pleased by the forward’s performance after coming off the bench in extra time in a final that saw the Celtic boss become the only man in Scottish football history to win a domestic Treble as player and manager.
However, after watching Griffiths lift the Scottish Cup, the Northern Irishman laid down the law once more as he countered his player’s post-match assertion that he only needs minutes on the pitch to return to full fitness.
Lennon, who issued a scathing attack on Griffiths in July after he reported back out of shape for preseason training after lockdown, believes the Scotland international still needs to be working harder.
Stressing there is no fall- out between the pair, he urged the former Hibernian and Wolves forward to knuckle down and ensure his undoubted footballing flair is complemented by peak levels of conditioning.
‘I was delighted with Leigh’s contribution at Hampden,’ said Lennon. ‘He did what he always does. He sniffed out a good chance in extra time and his reaction to the second ball was brilliant.
‘I’m delighted for him. He’s a goalscoring phenomenon, a natural-born goalscorer, and that’s why I kept him around.
‘He’s a huge asset. You could see what it meant to him on Sunday. He was cock-a-hoop to have made a contribution and won a cup. He’s not done that for a while.
‘Hopefully, it gives him a huge shot in the arm going forward.
‘ He will get the opportunity going forward, there’s no question of that.
‘I’m not totally convinced that he’s fit but he will be fit enough to play and add something to the games as we go along.
‘Do I mean he is not match fit or he is not fit? Both general conditioning and match fitness! I don’t know if he’s fit enough to do a full 90 minutes yet. But I think he’s fit enough to play a chunk of games.
‘Griff has tunnel vision, he can be quite belligerent and he has great belief in himself. He’s training every day but I think he can maybe push himself a little more.
‘This isn’t him and I falling out over anything. I just think he can get fitter.
‘Maybe he thinks he can get fitter by playing more of the games but I think in between games — or if he’s not playing as much — he can do a little bit more. He may disagree with that but it’s just a difference of opinion, probably.
‘Do I feel vindicated in standing by Leigh in the summer? I will maybe assess that at the end of the season. I want him to play. I want him to contribute more and s c or e more goals and get consistency in his fitness and performance levels.’
With the pressure of the quadruple Treble now over, Lennon hopes his side can relax and hit top form in the Premiership starting with tonight’s visit of Ross County.
He believes the manner of how his team fought until the bitter end f or victory over Hearts is evidence of the spirit within his squad.
He said: ‘ You could see their anxiety i n the second half at Hampden, both psychologically and physically — and no wonder. It’s such a huge achievement by them and it was a long time in the waiting.
‘ We might never have that opportunity again and I’m so pleased we’ve accomplished it.
‘It’s in the history books now and it was also a unique achievement f or myself, which I’m very proud of.
‘It was a great cup final, one which had everything and we were pushed all the way. It was actually very fitting that it went right down to the wire because it showed the players still had the mental strength to come through it, which was brilliant.
‘They can take pride in that but now they need to park it, calm down a little and enjoy their football from here on in.
‘But as you can imagine, the atmosphere has been really good in the last few days. It’s been quite buoyant.
‘I’m hoping that the pressure of completing that Treble will be relieved now and they can just go out and play their natural games again. The atmosphere has been lifted by what they’ve achieved.’
County will tonight be managed by f ormer Falkirk, Hibs and Inverness boss John Hughes after the Staggies sacked Stuart Kettlewell on Saturday night.
Lennon phoned Kettlewell to commiserate on his fate, which came just 20 days after he had knocked Celtic out of the Betfred Cup at Parkhead.
After that cup shock, Lennon and the Celtic board were subject to f urious f an protests while Kettlewell was being lauded.
That the 36-year-old is now out of a job and Lennon is a quadruple Treble- winning history- maker is proof of how fast fortunes turn in football.
‘ I gave Stuart Kettlewell a call on Saturday night and I congratulated him on a really good first stint in his managerial career,’ said Lennon.
‘He’s a good lad who sets his team out very well. He’s got his badge of honour now. You’re guaranteed one thing in this job and that’s the sack at some stage.
‘I had a chat with him and said we all go through this and that hopefully he comes back stronger. I hope to see him back in the game soon.
‘ Who would be a f ootball manager? Yeah, we are a funny breed. You need to be verging on masochistic to do this job.
‘But we all do it because we love it. We want to win, we want to make our team better; and we want to make our contribution to a game that has been so good to us.’